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Valencia and Saugus were billed as the best two teams heading =
into=20
Foothill League girls volleyball play.
At least one of them =
lived=20
up to that title on the opening night of league play =E2=80=94 and =
it wasn=E2=80=99t the=20
nine-time defending champions.
An experienced Saugus team =
fired on=20
all cylinders from start to finish in a dominant 3-0 victory over =
Valencia=20
on Tuesday at Valencia High School.
The Centurions (18-2, =
1-0) won=20
the games 25-13, 25-15 and 25-22, ending a 17-match losing streak =
against=20
the Vikings, who have won at least a share of league every year =
since=20
2001.
It was the Centurions=E2=80=99 first victory over the =
Vikings since a=20
3-2 win on Oct. 8, 2002.
Armed with seven seniors and three =
returning All-Santa Clarita Valley players, Saugus jumped out to =
an 8-0=20
lead in the first game and continued to build on =
it.
=E2=80=9CWith this=20
league, you play one bad game and you=E2=80=99re in =
trouble,=E2=80=9D said junior setter=20
Ashley Guthrie. =E2=80=9CThis game means a lot to us, but =
we=E2=80=99ve got to keep that=20
in our memory banks.=E2=80=9D
Saugus=E2=80=99 scoring came =
from all different=20
angles, with Jaclyn Clark and Sarah Blomgren working outside and =
Ashley=20
Pagan in the middle to disrupt Valencia (8-4, 0-1).
The =
three=20
seniors combined for 34 kills, and most of them were assisted by =
Guthrie,=20
who gathered 34 assists.
Clark led all hitters with 14 =
kills,=20
Blomgren had 11 and Pagan had nine to go along with eight=20
blocks.
Though the Vikings had plenty of weapons of their =
own,=20
Saugus=E2=80=99 constant tough serving and relentless blocking =
kept the match on=20
the Centurions=E2=80=99 side of the net most of the =
night.
=E2=80=9CWe have done a=20
very good job this year of shutting down teams=E2=80=99 =
offenses,=E2=80=9D said Saugus=20
head coach Zach Ambrose.
In the opening game, all eight of =
Saugus=E2=80=99=20
points started with serves from Hannah Nua.
Though she =
finished=20
with just three aces, her serving threw off the Vikings=E2=80=99 =
offense all match=20
long.
=E2=80=9COur passing was terrible tonight,=E2=80=9D =
said Valencia head coach=20
Ray Sanchez. =E2=80=9CThey served the ball really well and our =
passes couldn=E2=80=99t get=20
where they needed to.=E2=80=9D
Valencia never made the =
first game close and=20
didn=E2=80=99t hang around very long in the second game, =
either.
With the=20
score tied 11-11, Saugus ripped off 11 straight points to make it=20
22-11.
=E2=80=9CI feel like physically we gave them our =
best shot, but we=20
weren=E2=80=99t prepared mentally,=E2=80=9D said Valencia outside =
hitter Delaney Knudsen,=20
who co-led the team with seven kills and also had nine digs and =
four=20
assists.
Teammate Serena LeDuff added seven kills of her=20
own.
The Vikings=E2=80=99 best chance to win came in the =
third game, when=20
they opened up an 11-7 lead, their biggest of the =
match.
Following=20
a timeout, the Centurions once again had an answer in the form of =
a 5-0=20
run to retake the lead.
=E2=80=9CThe seniors are a big part =
of that,=E2=80=9D=20
Ambrose said of his team=E2=80=99s composure. =E2=80=9CThey =
finally did what we=E2=80=99ve been=20
talking about. We=E2=80=99re just going to look at every opponent =
the same way. It=20
doesn=E2=80=99t matter how good they are.=E2=80=9D
This =
time, the better team was=20
Saugus, but Valencia=E2=80=99s run of consecutive league titles =
isn=E2=80=99t in danger=20
yet.
=E2=80=9CThe first match of league isn=E2=80=99t going =
to decide anything,=E2=80=9D=20
Sanchez said. =E2=80=9COur destiny is in our hands. All we need to =
do is win our=20
games.=E2=80=9D
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