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There=E2=80=99s a certain list of attributes that makes up any =
successful=20
team.
Talent is on the list, but that=E2=80=99s all=20
relative.
Experience is another thing, but that changes =
from year=20
to year.
In terms of mental fortitude, though, Valencia =
girls=20
volleyball has been second to none in the Foothill League for =
nearly a=20
decade.
For that reason, it will take a major breakthrough =
for any=20
team to end Valencia=E2=80=99s streak of nine straight league=20
championships.
=E2=80=9CThis year is a little bit =
different,=E2=80=9D said Saugus=20
head coach Zach Ambrose. =E2=80=9CI have a lot of confidence. I =
always like to=20
downplay us a little bit and I never think we=E2=80=99re the best =
team, but this=20
year we=E2=80=99re playing at a pretty high =
level.=E2=80=9D
The problem is, so is=20
Valencia. The Vikings are ranked fifth in the latest CIF-Southern =
Section=20
Division IA poll, ahead of Saugus at No. 8.
The teams not =
only have=20
a chance to win league, but they could make a significant push in =
the=20
playoffs.
But that=E2=80=99s thinking way too far =
ahead.
With league=20
play beginning today, there are four other Foothill teams that =
will have=20
something to say about the two =
frontrunners.
Valencia=20
Vikings
At this time last year, injuries were =
piling up=20
and Valencia was forced to call up a couple of players from junior =
varsity=20
just to fill the roster.
Three sophomores were seeing =
significant=20
varsity playing time, casting doubts about the Vikings=E2=80=99 =
ability to win=20
league and keep the streak alive.
Now, those sophomores =
have=20
another year of experience, and they=E2=80=99re the foundation of =
a scorching=20
start to the season.
=E2=80=9CYou could say we=E2=80=99re =
deceivingly young,=E2=80=9D said=20
head coach Ray Sanchez. =E2=80=9CWe=E2=80=99re not as young as we =
look and we=E2=80=99re more=20
experienced than we look.=E2=80=9D
That experience has paid =
off already, as=20
the Vikings (8-3) have collected wins over Notre Dame Academy of =
Los=20
Angeles (ranked seventh in Division IA) and Division IAA power=20
Lakewood.
Though Valencia has just three seniors, the team =
is=20
loaded with talented players at just about every =
position.
=E2=80=9CMy=20
biggest problem this year is trying to figure out where to put the =
right=20
combination of players, and that=E2=80=99s a great problem to =
have,=E2=80=9D Sanchez=20
said.
A few players have shifted around to maintain balance =
and=20
accommodate the new two-setter system being used.
That =
means junior=20
Delaney Knudsen will help at setter and supplement fellow junior =
and=20
third-year varsity setter Carly Carapella.
Senior Sydney =
Striff is=20
also taking on a different role, moving from her spot as an =
opposite=20
hitter last year to middle blocker this =
season.
=E2=80=9CFrom an offensive=20
point of view, we don=E2=80=99t have a go-to big gun,=E2=80=9D =
Sanchez said. =E2=80=9CWe=E2=80=99re pretty=20
well-balanced. We distribute the ball pretty well. That=E2=80=99s =
our=20
strength.=E2=80=9D
Saugus =
Centurions
No team in the=20
league comes close to bringing back the amount of talent that =
Saugus=20
does.
Only one starter from last year graduated, and Saugus =
returns=20
a wealth of talent.
And yet, the Centurions=E2=80=99 head =
coach wouldn=E2=80=99t=20
dare predict his team to knock off the nine-time defending =
Foothill=20
champions.
=E2=80=9CWe definitely have the chance to =
challenge them this=20
year,=E2=80=9D Ambrose said. =E2=80=9CBut I think in the end, they =
usually find a way to=20
win.=E2=80=9D
It isn=E2=80=99t that he doubts his =
team=E2=80=99s ability, especially after=20
finishing second in league last year. Last week, Saugus (17-2) =
beat Los=20
Osos of Rancho Cucamonga, the same team that eliminated the =
Centurions in=20
the second round of the CIF-SS Div. IA playoffs last =
season.
That=E2=80=99s=20
in addition to an impressive showing in the San Luis Obispo =
Tournament a=20
week earlier, where multiple higher-division teams =
competed.
=E2=80=9CWe=20
are definitely starting to peak and play our best volleyball right =
now,=E2=80=9D=20
Ambrose said. =E2=80=9CI think in years past, we maybe peaked a =
little=20
early.=E2=80=9D
Saugus=E2=80=99 deadly hitting combination =
includes fourth-year=20
varsity player Jaclyn Clark and third-year player Sarah Blomgren. =
They=E2=80=99ll=20
be assisted by another third-year player in setter Ashley=20
Guthrie.
The three seniors won=E2=80=99t be easy to stop, =
nor will the=20
Centurions as a whole.
West Ranch=20
Wildcats
What the Wildcats may lack in experience, =
they=20
certainly make up for in ability.
Two sophomores on the =
team, Haley=20
Lind and Alexis Clewis, spent the summer playing for various USA=20
Volleyball Select teams.
Now they=E2=80=99re starters for =
West=20
Ranch.
But the Wildcats (3-10) have struggled with a =
difficult=20
non-league schedule so far, and will head into league play quietly =
as a=20
result.
=E2=80=9CWe haven=E2=80=99t played any easy teams =
so far,=E2=80=9D said head coach=20
Nate Sparks. =E2=80=9CI think we already sort of are flying under =
the=20
radar.=E2=80=9D
With key losses on both the offensive and =
defensive ends,=20
West Ranch, which finished third in the Foothill League in 2010, =
is trying=20
to find the right combination of mostly sophomores and juniors to =
fill the=20
gaps.
At this point in the season, it=E2=80=99s still a =
learning=20
process.
=E2=80=9CEvery team we=E2=80=99ve played this year =
and lost to, we=E2=80=99ve been=20
ahead in most of those games, and for some reason we =
haven=E2=80=99t been able to=20
finish it out,=E2=80=9D Sparks said.
A major emphasis for =
the Wildcats has=20
been on blocking in order to counter the powerful offensive =
attacks of=20
Valencia and Saugus.
One of the team=E2=80=99s four =
seniors, Angel=20
Rutledge, leads the combination of middle blockers.
Sparks =
said=20
she=E2=80=99s arguably the best blocker in the league.
She =
may have to be=20
to keep the Foothill=E2=80=99s top teams under =
control.
Hart=20
Indians
Even head coach Mary Keen admits that Hart =
is a=20
tough team to pinpoint.
The Indians have an even split of =
six=20
seniors and six juniors to go along with one freshman=20
starter.
Plenty of talented players return, yet a few also=20
graduated.
On top of that, it=E2=80=99s been an up-and-down =
non-league=20
season for Hart (5-7).
=E2=80=9CThere=E2=80=99s some games =
where we look like we=E2=80=99ve=20
been playing together for four or five years ...=E2=80=9D Keen =
said. =E2=80=9CAnd then=20
there=E2=80=99s some games where you look at it and we look like =
we=E2=80=99ve never=20
played together.=E2=80=9D
Fortunately, Hart is seeing more =
of the good than=20
the bad as it continues to stand up against tough opponents like =
La=20
Canada, Camarillo and San Marcos.
=E2=80=9CWe try to run =
many plays that=20
will force the opponents=E2=80=99 blockers to move, to =
adjust,=E2=80=9D Keen said. =E2=80=9CWe=E2=80=99re=20
really trying implement a diverse offensive =
system.=E2=80=9D
That system=20
will depend largely on the play of the setters Ashleigh Tippet and =
freshman Erin Indermill, who will run the same two-setter offense =
as every=20
other team in the league with the exception of Saugus.
It =
may still=20
be a mystery where Hart stacks up against the rest of the =
Foothill, but=20
Keen is certain of one thing =E2=80=94 her team is vastly improved =
from where it=20
was during summer preseason workouts.
Canyon=20
Cowboys
Already, Canyon (4-0) has more wins than =
it had=20
all of last season.
Granted, the wins haven=E2=80=99t come =
against the=20
upper echelon of volleyball teams in Southern California, but =
it=E2=80=99s all the=20
start of what first-year head coach Brandon Johnson calls a =
program=20
revival.
=E2=80=9CThey=E2=80=99re gaining confidence for =
the girls,=E2=80=9D Johnson said=20
of his team=E2=80=99s 4-0 record headed into league play. =
=E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s confidence that=20
the girls haven=E2=80=99t had very much before because of lack of=20
success.=E2=80=9D
A year ago, the Cowboys finished 3-16 =
overall, with two=20
of the wins coming against Golden Valley.
Seven seniors =
return this=20
season, and Johnson is doing everything he can to erase the =
team=E2=80=99s recent=20
struggles.
=E2=80=9CIt takes some time for them to adjust =
to me and my=20
style and what I=E2=80=99m trying to implement into the =
program,=E2=80=9D Johnson said. =E2=80=9CI=20
don=E2=80=99t think it=E2=80=99s a one-year thing what I=E2=80=99m =
trying to do. This is a=20
program-wide change.=E2=80=9D
Golden Valley=20
Grizzlies
The 2011 Grizzlies are basically the =
same team=20
as the 2010 version.
The eight returning starters just hope =
the=20
results are different.
Third-year head coach Jeff Cody sees =
that as=20
a distinct possibility given the fact that the program has never =
had this=20
much consistency.
=E2=80=9CThis is my third season here =
with the girls and=20
I=E2=80=99ll say this is probably the most, I don=E2=80=99t want =
to say the most talented,=20
but the most experienced team I=E2=80=99ve had,=E2=80=9D Cody =
said.
It=E2=80=99s also the=20
first time the girls volleyball team has kept the same head coach =
for more=20
than two seasons.
Although the Grizzlies (1-3) =
haven=E2=80=99t won a league=20
match since Cody took over, his influence has created a more =
competitive=20
atmosphere and thus, attracted more talented club players than =
ever=20
before.
=E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s no longer, =E2=80=98Oh, =
anyone can make the team,=E2=80=99=E2=80=9D Cody=20
said. =E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s, =E2=80=98You=E2=80=99re really going =
to have to work to make the=20
team.=E2=80=99=E2=80=9D
The only significant graduation =
loss was outside hitter Sam=20
Holcombe, leaving the Grizzlies with several second- and =
third-year=20
varsity players at every position.
Golden Valley=E2=80=99s =
strength appears=20
to be defense, where junior Hanna Acree enters her third year on =
the team=20
and leads a scrappy defense that has already given opponents =
trouble.=20
=E2=80=9CI=E2=80=99m hoping this is the year that we =
finally kind of break into=20
where we finally start beating league teams,=E2=80=9D Cody =
said.
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