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With Thursday’s three-game sweep over East Bay Athletic League rival California High in the bag, the Berkeley High boys volleyball team can only sit back and play a different game until Sunday’s playoff seeding meeting: namely, the waiting game. 

In attempting to put together a late-season run to impress the NCS committee, the ‘Jackets have seemingly lived up to their part of the bargain, winning three out of four matches to close out the EBAL season at 6-6. With a respectable 12-9 overall record, and split series with such powerhouses as James Logan and Amador Valley, Berkeley High believes it has done enough to slip into one of the final spots in next week’s NCS playoff draw. 

“We went 4-2 over our last six, and we’re playing better at the end than we were the first time through (the league schedule),” said BHS coach Justin Caraway, who expects the NCS to invite at least one additional EBAL squad, besides league champion Foothill and runner-up San Ramon. “Our records certainly aren’t stellar, but they’re probably good enough to get us in.” 

Should Berkeley qualify for the postseason, Thursday’s 15-11, 17-15, 17-15 defeat of the Grizzlies would figure to play a big part in restoring the Yellowjackets’ confidence, after Tuesday’s four-game loss to first-place Foothill. While Caraway saw room for improvement in the Cal High game – especially in passing and serving – he considered the triumph a mark of progress. 

“I think we did a pretty good job, in general. The scores looked a lot closer than they actually were,” the coach said. “We were ahead in all three games, and we did a pretty good job of siding out. Once we got to 14, we really stepped up.” 

If the NCS selection committee does deem BHS worthy of postseason play, the ‘Jackets would likely open the playoffs with a first-round road game on Tuesday evening.