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The seniors on the Palo Alto and Sacred Heart Prep girls' volleyball teams are venturing into unknown territory, which includes playing for Central Coast Section titles and qualifying for the NorCal playoffs for the first time following impressive semifinal victories on Wednesday.

The Paly seniors helped the program reach its first CCS final since 2000 following a dramatic 25-22, 15-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-13 victory over Presentation in a CCS Division II semifinal on Wednesday night at Valley Christian in San Jose.

The Sacred Heart Prep seniors got their team into its first CCS finale since 2005 following a 27-25, 25-22, 26-24 upset of top-seeded Mercy-Burlingame in a Division IV semifinal on Wednesday at Harker School in Campbell.

Second-seeded Palo Alto (35-3) will take on No. 1 Mitty (35-0) on Saturday in the section title match at Independence High in San Jose at 4:30 p.m. Both teams are qualified for the NorCal playoffs, which begin Tuesday. The CCS champ will open at home while the loser plays on the road.

Third-seeded Sacred Heart Prep (22-10) will face No. 1 Notre Dame-Salinas (24-5) in the Division IV finale on Saturday, also at Independence High, at 12:30 p.m. Both are headed to the NorCal playoffs, as well.

Palo Alto accomplished quite a bit with its rollercoaster victory over Presentation. Foremost, the Vikings earned a berth in the section finals against the nation's No. 1 team, and reached NorCals.

The victory over No. 3 Presentation (32-8) also avenged one of only three losses the Vikings have suffered this season. Moreover, it improved Paly's remarkable winning streak to 33 straight in addition to setting a school record for most single-season victories (35) in school history. Palo Alto has not lost since the opening tournament of the season, where the Vikings went 2-3.

"I've never beaten Presentation in my coaching career," said Paly coach Dave Winn, who earlier in the season beat Menlo School for the first time, too. "There's a lot of satisfaction in this win."

Junior Trina Ohms led Paly with 13 kills and 13 digs while senior Marissa Florant added 11 kills and 21 digs despite playing on a sore ankle. Sophomore Maddie Kuppe added 11 kills while sophomore setter Kim Whitson and junior libero Megan Coleman also stood out, as did 6-foot-5 sophomore middle hitter Melanie Wade and sophomore outside hitter Caroline Martin. Cassie Prioleau, one of only two seniors on the team, contributed as well along with freshman Shelby Knowles.

Wade provided the winning kill after a block by Martin and Prioleau set the stage.

Mitty, the defending CCS champ that eliminated Palo Alto in the semifinals last season, advanced with a 25-20, 25-22, 25-23 victory over No. 4 St. Francis, also at Valley Christian.

Sacred Heart Prep, meanwhile, got nine kills from Kira Whitehouse, eight kills from Sarah Dashbach and Christine Renschler, 31 assists from Margot Roux, 13 digs from DeAnna Kneis and seven kills plus five block assists from Jesse Ebner to beat Mercy-Burlingame.

The Gators had lost to Mercy twice during the West Bay Athletic League (Foothill Division) season, but won the match that counted most. Dashbach provided the winning point.