Drake Seeks Volleyball Repeat on Familiar Court

boys volleyball coach had hoped his team, the North Coast Section defending champion, would earn the No. 1 seed in this year’s tournament, because that would mean potentially hosting the finals.

But truth be told, the second-seeded Pirates might have No. 1 Campolindo right where they want it Saturday in the 7 p.m. NCS Division II finals in Moraga.

Drake, seeded third at the time, went to Campolindo and beat the Cougars a year ago to win the NCS championship.

“The fact that we did go there last year … it certainly gives us the confidence we can win there,” Hedlund said in the wake of Thursday’s semifinal sweep of Northgate. “I think our team is stronger this year. So we just have to go in and have a good game plan and execute it accordingly.”

The great thing about the Pirates’ game plan is it can be complex. That’s because the team has five standout players, all possible of being difference-makers in a big match.

Seniors , , and and junior are the “lynchpins,” as Hedlund labels them, of a team that’s won 22 matches in a row, sweeping 48 consecutive sets in the process.

In fact, the last time the Pirates lost … well, it was to Campolindo at a tournament Drake hosted in the preseason.

That doesn’t concern Hedlund.

“For us, a preseason event is for trying out new players and new strategies,” the coach assured. “Yeah, we like to win, but our goal is to be at our best at the end of the season, not at the beginning.

“Right now, the lads are playing good. We’re quite happy with the results. We thought we were deserving of the No. 1 seed. They thought differently, and we respect that. The only difference would be: if we had the No. 1 seed, we’d be playing at home.”

It didn’t wind up mattering last year. The Pirates are hoping that’ll be the case again Saturday.