"All year we worked towards a theme that we thought represented us best," said coach Chris Bunce. "We wanted to see it on the shirts we wore, in the attitude we had, and in the character we displayed."

"Our theme was the pursuit of excellence," he said. "We knew we could not achieve perfection, but we wanted to work towards excellence. It really helped create a team togetherness with an attitude that every individual on the team was just as important as the others."

And that was a key element in allowing the Knights to be as successful as they were this year.

During the non-league portion of their season, the Knights spent most of their time playing teams that weren't in Division V. The purpose is two-fold, said Bunce. It allowed TKA to gain the experience of playing tougher competition to prepare for the type of competition that it would face in the Central Coast Section playoffs. And it would also increase King's powerpoint totals, helping the Knights qualify for the playoffs and enhance their seeding level.

In their non-league season the Knights participated in the Milpitas Spikefest and the Santa Cruz Invitational, as well as hosting the annual The Kings Academy Invitational.

The Knights entered Private School Athletic League play not knowing what to expect. "We didn't know what it would be like this year," said Bunce. "We finished third last year with a pretty talented team and we did not feel our team would be as strong this year. We hoped to at least make a strong showing."

The Knights did just that and finished second with an 8-2 league mark. Valley Christian­Dublin was the league champ and the only team in the league to beat the Knights.

"Our team leaders were seniors Cassandra McEuen and Krista Althhausen. They've played together since the seventh grade," said Bunce. "They would always pick up the other girls anytime we had a disappointing loss or setback."

"A strength that we had this year that we did not have last year was a strong defense," added Bunce. Socha Bell and Brittany Gordon led the way for the Knights in this area. "They were good passers which always gave the team the chance to return the ball back," said Bunce. They were supported by defensive specialist Shannon Castillo.

The offensive punch came from McEuen, Althhausen and Claire Westwood, who were the kill leaders for the Knights. Key to the offensive production was the excellent play of setters Alanna Musci and Dannielle Svozil.

As a result of their strong non-league schedule, the Knights compiled the highest powerpoint total for CCS Division V teams and TKA was the No 1 seed, good for a first-round bye.

In the semifinals, TKA squared off with St. Thomas More. The Knights got off to a slow start losing a close first game but made some offensive and defensive adjustments and came back strong to win three straight games and take the match. McEuen led the way with 13 kills.

In the Division V finals, the Knights faced off against league rival Valley Christian­Dublin. The Knights lost 25-20, 25-6, 25-15.

By finishing second in CCS, the Knights qualified for the Northern California tournament but lost 25-5, 25-14, 25-10 to No. 1 seed University-San Francisco.

"We gave them our best, and actually played with them at times, but not for the whole match," said Bunce. One bright spot was McEuen getting two of her five team-high kills against University's strongest blocker.