The defending NCS champion Acalanes Dons boys volleyball team traveled to Antioch to play Deer Valley, a Division 1 school with a historically strong program. The Dons started slowly and trailed 3-6  but then scored 11 straight points with junior Nikolai Heffernan serving. The 11-0 run included kills by senior Alex Franke and sophomore Austin Kinnear.  With a 14-6 lead, the Dons cruised to a 25-12 victory in the first game.  The second game featured more dominance from the Dons, as they prevailed 25-13.  In the third game, the Dons got out to a 16-7 lead.  However, inspired play from Deer Valley and a let up by the Dons made the game interesting, as the lead went down to six, at 19-13.   The Dons still went on to win, 25-19. 

Senior Colin Kirbach led the Dons with 26 assists, frequently taking good passes from senior libero Lane Altbaum and sending them over to his teammates for kills.  Heffernan led the team with 10 kills while Franke and Kinnear had 8 each.  Senior Jackson Kirke led the Dons with 3 blocks and along with fellow senior Griffin Johnson, Franke and Kinnear made it hard for Deer Valley to get good hits.  The Dons are scheduled to host Skyline High School on February 27, but at press time it is not certain whether the game will go forward as scheduled.