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In a matchup of two of the top 10 teams in the CIF-Southern =
Section=20
Division I-A rankings, the Valencia girls volleyball team knew it =
would=20
struggle at times against Notre Dame Academy.
The Vikings =
just=20
needed to be resilient =E2=80=94 and that=E2=80=99s exactly what =
they did.
With=20
close wins in the first two games, Valencia built confidence and =
beat the=20
seventh-ranked Regals 3-1 on Tuesday at Valencia High =
School.
The=20
Vikings, ranked No. 5 in the division, won by scores of 25-23, =
25-22,=20
22-25 and 25-17.
=E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s good to talk about =
being competitive and=20
having great poise, and then showing it,=E2=80=9D said Valencia =
head coach Ray=20
Sanchez.
Valencia (1-1) rallied several times in the first =
game,=20
including a six-point streak to turn a 15-12 deficit into an 18-15 =
lead.=20
The Vikings also benefited from unforced errors by Notre Dame =
(0-1), which=20
was missing returning All-CIF libero Kristen Castellanos due to=20
injury.
Her absence led to inconsistent passing, and =
Valencia=20
feasted off the mistakes.
=E2=80=9CI think we came out =
really sloppy,=E2=80=9D said=20
Notre Dame head coach Jesse Tupac. =E2=80=9CObviously our =
serve-receive hurt=20
us.=E2=80=9D
For Valencia, that meant serving was a =
strength. Setter and=20
opposite Delaney Knudsen led the Vikings with five aces, including =
two=20
during a critical closing stretch of the second =
game.
=E2=80=9CWe=E2=80=99ve been=20
working on tough serving for a week or two,=E2=80=9D Knudsen said. =
=E2=80=9CIt gets them=20
off their footing.=E2=80=9D
Valencia=E2=80=99s block also =
played a key role in=20
Tuesday=E2=80=99s victory. It constantly altered Notre =
Dame=E2=80=99s offense and even led=20
directly to points at times.
Sanchez credited assistant =
coach Mark=20
Knudsen for working with the team in that =
regard.
=E2=80=9CThis year might=20
be the best blocking team we=E2=80=99ve had in a long, long =
time,=E2=80=9D Sanchez=20
said.
With two victories in the first two games under their =
belt,=20
the Vikings came out slower in the third game and couldn=E2=80=99t =
quite catch up=20
to Notre Dame.
But they did battle back, and that momentum =
led to a=20
6-0 start to the fourth game before the Regals called a timeout.=20
Valencia found holes in the Notre Dame block and poked =
kills=20
through, and the game was never really in doubt.
Delaney =
Knudsen=20
also led Valencia with eight kills, while Sierra Sanchez had =
seven, Serena=20
LeDuff and Hayley Knapp had five apiece and Crystal Makous had =
four. Carly=20
Carapella had 17 assists, and Knudsen added 13.
For Notre =
Dame,=20
Alex Reale led the way with 15 kills and three blocks, while =
Immanuella=20
Inagu had 14 kills.
Things don=E2=80=99t get any easier for =
Valencia, which=20
will host Lakewood at 6 p.m. today. Lakewood was a CIF-SS Div. =
I-AA=20
semifinalist in 2010.
Still, Sanchez acknowledged beating =
Notre=20
Dame was a good win early in the season.
=E2=80=9CWe try to =
schedule as=20
tough as we can,=E2=80=9D Sanchez said. =E2=80=9CWe jump into the =
deep end of the pool. It=20
was a nice win.=E2=80=9D
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