On Tuesday evening, Trinity Classical Academy was ready. Their opponent, Santa Clarita Christian, had beaten them earlier in the season and the Knights were eager to reverse the results.
Chairs at Henry Mayo Fitness Center were set up to make up for the lack of bleachers in the gym, but it soon turned into a standing room only event as Knights fans flooded the gym. Soon, they’d be flooding the court after Trinity’s 3-2 win over SCCS.
“It feels amazing,” said Knights outside hitter Hannah Caddow. “Our team executed so well and that’s the part that feels the best and the most satisfying.”
The Cards (14-4 overall, 6-2 in Heritage League) snatched an early lead from the Knights in the first game and turned it into a 25-19 win in their favor.
Trinity (13-7-1, 7-2) jumped out to an early lead in Game 2 as well, but managed to hang on to it while keeping SCCS hitters like Aaronya Crosswhite and Kalona Marr at bay. The Knights took the game 25-17.
“We made sure our blockers were up and ready and we made sure our off blocker, which is super important that we didn’t really do last game, was down and ready by the 10-foot line,” said Caddow.
SCCS never trailed Trinity in Game 3 and Marr had back-to-back kills to pull the Cardinals ahead 17-11. Crosswhite sealed the game with an ace to make it 25-19.
Game 4 was the reverse of the game prior. The Knights picked up an early lead and never looked back. Caddow had two consecutive kills, then a block to close out the game 25-22.
A lead was within reach for the Cards in the final frame, after tying the game once and trailing by one point on several other occasions, but errors and a late kill from Caddow earned the Knights a 15-11 Game 5 win.
“I think both teams came out elevated in their play and it was just a battle to the end,” said SCCS coach Darcy Brown. “It was a solid game. There were a few times we needed to put the ball away and we didn’t.”
Caddow executed 22 kills and 15 digs for the Knights. Kathryn Brooks had 48 assists, Carissa Bixler had 13 kills and Allie Brown had eight kills. Julia Carver led the team with 16 digs.
Marr finished the night with 24 kills and eight digs. Crosswhite added 12 kills and Austen Hermanson had 15 digs. Megan Dombrowski had 40 assists.
Saugus 3, Golden Valley 0
The Centurions (16-10 overall, 5-3 in Foothill League) swept at home with game scores of 25-7, 25-20, 25-12.
Holly Piroli had eight aces and 17 digs for Saugus, while Caitlin Liebe had 15 kills and Gabby Scheisser had 33 assists.
The Grizzlies are 8-17-1 and 0-8.
Hart 3, Canyon 0
The Indians won 25-13, 25-11, 25-16. Ashley Cosey had nine kills and Makenna Fall had 16 digs.
Hart moves to 15-9 and 7-1 on the season, while Canyon is 6-9-2 and 1-7.
Valencia 3, West Ranch 0
The Vikings (17-9, 7-1) took down the Wildcats 25-13, 25-15, 25-21.
Jess Throckmorton led Valencia with 12 kills. Lauryn Shockley had 11 kills and 21 digs and Kaelyn White had 31 assists.
West Ranch is 11-12 and 4-4.
