Prep volleyball roundup: West Ranch holds off Saugus comeback; Hart and Valencia cruise to wins

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The final point in West Ranch volleyball’s 3-2 win over Saugus could not only be seen, but it could be heard, too.

Allison Jacobs executed a kill that nearly went through the Saugus High School gym floor to put an exclamation point on a 15-12 Game 5 win on Tuesday night.

“It was really just like a culmination of everything, like, because we’ve been struggling with passing the whole match, so I got that good pass and then Brooke (Benner) stepped in and gave me a perfect set,” Jacobs said.

The Wildcats (9-11 overall, 3-3 in Foothill League) came out swinging, winning the first game 25-18 when a Saugus serve went out of bounds and the second 25-20 on an ace.

The momentum shifted in the Centurions’ favor in the second game as costly mistakes allowed them to take down the Cats 25-15.

“We just didn’t touch the ball that well and it’s kind of a thing we’ve struggled with a little bit this season and it’s an inconsistency,” said West Ranch coach Jamey Ker. “We play great volleyball and then who knows, each set we might play something completely different.”

Saugus (11-8, 3-3) forced a fifth game by winning Game 4, 25-17.

Cents libero Holly Piroli defended Jacobs for most of the night, thwarting kills with quick digs in the right spots. She ended the night with 28 digs.

“She definitely got my deep corner shot, which I always love, so that was a struggle to find a way around that,” said Jacobs, who had 26 kills. “(It gave) me a unique challenge.”

Jacobs had a few essential digs herself, guarding Caitlin Liebe, who had a match-high 29 kills. Jacobs had 13 digs.

Game 5 began as a tightly-contested affair, then the Wildcats pulled ahead 8-4 on a pair of aces and a Jacobs kill.

Liebe brought the Cents back up to speed with three kills that pulled her team within three points of a lead, but it wasn’t enough to secure a win.

“They’re struggling — missing two starters, both middles are out — so they didn’t take it as an excuse,” said Saugus coach Zach Ambrose. “They came out and played hard and in the end, it just wasn’t a good enough execution.”

The first time the two teams met in league play, Saugus captured a 3-1 win.

Since then, West Ranch revamped its offense to feature two setters as opposed to one.

“I actually think we were better because of that … It was a big reason why we ended up winning that fifth set,” Ker said, and credited Caitlyn Varsam, Gwen Garate and Benner’s abilities at the setter position as a major factor in the win.

Hart 3, Golden Valley 0

The Indians (13-8, 6-0) won 25-23, 35-20, 25-16.

Shelby Grubbs totaled five blocks and seven kills for Hart, while Megan Soto had nine kills and Kylie Mattson had 33 assists.

Golden Valley is 4-12 and 0-5.

Valencia 3, Canyon 0

The Vikings are 13-4 overall and 5-1 in league after beating the Cowboys 25-2, 25-11, 25-22. Canyon is 5-6 and 0-5.

Trinity 3, Faith Baptist 1

Game scores were 25-20, 25-19, 19-25 25-19.

Kathryn Brooks had 31 assists, while Julia Carver had 14 digs and five aces. Hannah Caddow added 16 kills.

Trinity is 10-7-1 overall and 4-2 in the Heritage League with the win.

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