West Ranch High boys volleyball looked good. Valencia High boys volleyball looked good. But the Vikings didn’t stay good, falling to the Wildcats 3-0 Tuesday night at West Ranch.
Game scores were: 25-23, 25-16 and 25-17.
With the win, the Cats remain undefeated in Foothill League play and hand the Vikes their first league loss of the season.
“They’re our biggest competitors and if we win (against them) again, we win league,” said West Ranch’s Derek Seo.
Seo played a major role in turning the tide in Game 1. Valencia (6-12 overall, 1-1 in Foothill League) led by as many as five points early, but Seo’s strong serves and kills pushed the Wildcats in the winning direction.
“That cost us Game 1,” said Valencia coach Kevin Kornegay of Seo’s performance. “You can add a fourth serve receiver, bring a guy up, so we started doing that. We were up, he rattled off a couple points and they were right back in it.”
Seo finished the night with eight kills on nine attempts, five digs and six aces. He also had the game-winning point in the clincher.
MORE: 2017 Foothill League boys volleyball preview
He and Cats coach Nathan Sparks had a “semi-argument” halfway through the opening game, according to Sparks. The coach didn’t go into detail about the disagreement but noted that it gave the opposite a boost.
“(It) sort of lit a fire underneath him and he wanted to prove something, so that’s why I think he went out there like, ‘I deserve this.’”
West Ranch (8-3, 2-0) came out strong in the second two games, sticking to five-point leads for the most part of the evening.
Valencia, which is still trying to find its identity, experimented with lineup combinations throughout the game.
“We kind of use everybody,” Kornegay said. “It’s part of being young, it’s part of figuring it out and our guys have to learn how to win. We haven’t figured out what it takes to win.”
Jackson Young had nine kills for the Vikings. For West Ranch, Michael Flores had 15 kills and Tyson Drake had 28 assists.
Hart 3, Canyon 1
The Indians won in four sets with game scores of 25-16, 25-22, 17-25 and 42-40.
Hart’s Wyatt Bates led the team with eight kills and tacked on 11 digs. Ethan Wellins had four kills and Darin Dietz had 14 digs.
For Canyon, Jackson Edwards had 37 assists, Shea Stanford had 15 kills and Dustin Deisbeck had two aces.
The Indians are 5-3 overall and 1-1 in league, while the Cowboys are 1-9 and 0-2.
Saugus 3, Golden Valley 1
Game scores were 25-22, 21-25, 25-22, and 27-25 in favor of the Cents.
Anthony Devantier had two aces, four blocks and 32 assists for the Grizzlies. Austin Watts had 13 kills and hit .455. Christian Bisquera had 12 kills.
Saugus improves to 7-6 and 2-0. Golden Valley is 13-6 and 0-2.
