In a packed gym flooded with excited energy, the school’s volleyball team played in the home Egg Bowl game against Petaluma High on Oct. 18.

In Petaluma, the rivalry between the two main high schools is inevitable. While the football teams’ Egg Bowl has been highly anticipated every year, this has been the first Egg Bowl for volleyball in many years due to the recent league change. It was greatly popularized event, as all volleyball games have been this year. The Egg Bowl, especially, is a great way to bring the community together and show spirit for the competitive, but fun game.

The volleyball team practices rigorously three times a week for two hours before meets. They spend an hour conditioning and two hours practicing to prepare for games. Their season has been very successful so far, and they’ve had more wins than losses. They won both of their games against Petaluma by a landslide and showed their Gaucho spirit.

The competition this year was stiff; no one was sure who would win. The two teams had already played each other at the open gym so they knew each other and their tendencies and seemed evenly matched. Casa Grande did seem to have the heads up, having won 13 games this season, while Petaluma won six. Having beat many competitive teams, such as Santa Rosa High School, which was undefeated last year, the Gaucho team this year was definitely strong.

The game was highly anticipated and many students came to show support and school spirit. The Petaluma High student section was pinked out for their Dig Pink Fundraiser for breast cancer, while Casa Grande did blackout in support of Vinceró and Coach Forni’s memory.

Junior Hailey Caldwell watched from the student section and comments on the game.

“The stands were totally filled and there was a lot of spirit and everyone was cheering. It was definitely a fun night to support my school,” said Caldwell.

Even with the cheering student section, the game started off grim for the Gauchos. They were down 0-2 in the first two sets, but quickly recovered and came back for the next three sets. The Gauchos won the Egg Bowl after five sets, with a final score of 3-2.

Senior and varsity Captain Lauren McGuinn was extremely proud of her team.

“The win was very validating as we had worked so hard all season at practice and had great team chemistry,” said McGuinn.

One of the volleyball team members Savannah Sunshine, a sophomore, was also honored with the Vinceró Award. In memory of Coach Forni, this award is given to someone who has shown strength through hardships. Sun won this recognition for her high spirits despite having battled with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, celebrating her becoming cancer-free this year.

With this win as well as many others, the volleyball team qualified for North Coast Section league finals, where they played on Oct. 27 at Campolindo High School.