The Napa High volleyball team will have a tall order when it plays in its first Sac-Joaquin Section Div. I semifinal in 12 years at 7 p.m. today at Messner Gym.

Golden Valley-Merced (29-10 overall) is led by two 6-foot-1 players, senior outside hitter Kaitlin Davidson and junior middle blocker Celeste Castillo. The Cougars also have a 6-foot-2 player and another 6-foot-1 player on their 15-player roster.

Indians co-coaches Stephanie Raymond and Scott Kostecka — whose team played midseason matches against teams such as St. Francis to prepare for taller lineups in the playoffs — said Napa (24-2 overall) will need to expect more of its hits to get blocked, and to be prepared to dig and block balls.

“Since we’ll be facing a taller team, we will be sprucing up our hitter coverage in anticipation of strong blocking,” Raymond said, referring to when the offense surrounds the hitter and plays any ball that is blocked back. “The match against St. Francis, as well as the other matches we didn’t win, showed us our weaknesses and what areas we need to focus on more. It’s good to have a loss once in a while because it reminds us that we can’t get complacent and that there’s room for improvement.”

Golden Valley went 11-1 in the Central California Conference, losing only to Div. II playoff qualifier Buhach Colony in CCC play.

Napa’s tallest players are 5-11 Maggie Wessell and 5-10 teammates Maggie Agardi, Katie Morris and Kaylie Martin, while 5-9 outside hitter Tatum Souza’s vertical leap makes her seem 6-3 at times.

The Indians are coming off a three-game sweep of Folsom, after a slightly less-impressive four-game win over Beyer-Modesto.

“After Tuesday’s match against Beyer, it was obvious that we needed to work on our serving,” Raymond said. “We did a better job during the Folsom match, but we can still improve. Also, communication is a key aspect that we continually work on. We play our best when we talk on the court.”

Napa hasn’t been to the semis since 1996, when a team coached by currrent principal Barb Franco won the NorCal Div. II championship.

“We need to stay hungry and confident,” Kostecka said. “There’s nothing new to implement at this time. With the 12 excellent volleyball athletes on our team, we have the depth to really create challenging game-like conditions in practice.”