Sonoma High Dragon volleyball honored with achievement award

‘Team of the Month’ salutes dedication on and off the court.|

The Sonoma Valley High volleyball Dragons has been named the Les Schwab Tires North Coast Section Team of the Month for October.

The award, which was started this school year, honors a team for its dedication in the classroom, service to the community and performance on the court. The award is given monthly to one team in the North Coast Section, which covers six conferences and 175 schools from Fremont in the south to Crescent City in the north.

The team was nominated by SVHS Athletic Director Mike Boles.

In his nomination, Boles wrote, “The team embodies the term student-athlete and the goal of Pursuing Victory with Honor. This team went 7-0 in October (nine-game win streak), was co-champion of Vine Valley Athletic League (automatic berth), and plays with a sense of joy. In the classroom, their team-wide GPA (grade point average) is 3.51. Off the court, the team volunteered at the Red and White Ball in August to support the Sonoma Valley Education Foundation. Much of the team participates in such programs as Young Life, while various team members volunteer for Link Crew, the Sonoma Boys & Girls Club, Take Back the Night, as a photographer for Quetzalen (Sonoma’s Mexican Folk Ballet Company), and helping kids with rehearsals and performances at “Witchie Poo” at the Sebastiani Theatre.

Dragon Coach Brian Perkins is proud of his team.

“I’m very proud of the Dragons for this honor. Not just VVAL, or Division 3, but team of the month for all of NCS,” he said. “Undefeated in October is one thing. But to carry a 3.5 gpa as a team while doing it makes it very impressive. Then the list of volunteer and extracurricular activities the players do on top of school and volleyball was astounding.”

“They have set a very high bar for student athletes at SVHS, and have represented their team, their school, and their community in exemplary fashion,” Perkins added.

Athletic Director Boles said he wasn’t surprised that the team was chosen.

“They’re the perfect example of what student-athletes/teams should aspire to become,” he said. “If another team was selected, it wouldn’t have detracted from their accomplishments. We felt it was important we share their successes.”

Rachel Kisker, of the sports marketing division for CIF Sports Properties, said this is the second month the award has been given. Awards are also given in the Central Section, the Northern Section and the Sac-Joaquin Section.

“They’re going to get a banner from Les Schwab Tires and a $100 check for the program,” Kisker said.

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