By Diego Marquez
Signal Staff Writer
Hart earned its first Foothill League win Tuesday night against Canyon, winning in straight sets.
Led by senior Wyatt Bates, the Indians found their rhythm early on and fed off of each other’s energy.
“My team depends on me, so if I’m not doing my job, we can’t win,” Bates said about his team’s performance. “If everyone does their job, we come out with a win in three.”
Hart (6-7-1 overall, 1-2 league) won in games of 25-13, 25-21 and 25-19.
Bates led Hart with 16 kills and nine digs on the day. Sophomore Gavin Leising followed with eight kills and four blocks.
Junior Jake Meyers chipped in with six kills and six digs, while senior Kevin Clauss came away with four kills and seven digs.
“The underclassmen definitely change the pace,” said Hart coach Jeannie Brauninger. “I’m able to mix in the juniors and sophomores and they blend really well (with the rest of the team). They keep a faster pace which is what’s going to keep us in the win category.”
Canyon coach Jeff Cody thought his boys played better than their last showing, but felt the team needed more continuity.
“We played a lot better than last week, so the improvement for us was really good. We need more consistency,” Cody said about his team’s effort on Tuesday. “We struggled with setters, so that could have been better, but I’m always looking to improve.”
Canyon senior Dustin Deisbeck led the Cowboys with 10 kills and two digs, while fellow senior Esquivel Ramirez finished the night with two kills and four digs.
“I kind of just want to reflect on what we did today,” Ramirez said. “We played against an extremely good team, but you know we have to continue, go back to practice and grind out how we’ve been playing. Hopefully, it will lead to victory.
The Cowboys (9-10, 0-2) have a quick turnaround as they face Golden Valley on Thursday. The Indians get a break until their next game on April 10 against Saugus.
Saugus 3, Golden Valley 1
The Centurions defended their home court against the Grizzlies Tuesday, cruising to a 3-1 victory over Golden Valley.
Saugus won the first game, 25-18, but the Grizzlies found a way to crawl back with a 28-26 win in the second.
However, it was all Saugus after that. The Centurions won the last games 25-11 and 25-16, respectively.
Cents center Luke Leonard dished out 33 assists on the night and added three kills.
The top hitters for Saugus were Dylan Spring, who registered seven kills on a .250 hitting percentage, and Gage Smith, who tallied 15 kills on a .219 hitting percentage.
Golden Valley goes on the road again against Canyon on Thursday at 5:15 p.m.
Saugus is scheduled to host Valencia on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.