Duncan, Jacobs share Foothill League Player of the Year honors

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Just like two teams shared the Foothill League title this season, there are two athletes sharing the 2019 Foothill League Player of the Year Award.

Allison Jacobs of West Ranch and Ruby Duncan of Hart both earned Player of the Year accolades.

Jacobs was excited to receive the award, especially because it comes three years after her sister earned it.

“It feels great to receive the award, especially since my sister (Katie) had gotten this honor during my freshman season,” said Jacobs.

Allison Jacobs (7) of West Ranch celebrates a point against Saugus with teammates at Saugus on Thursday. Dan Watson/The Signal

Jacobs finished her final season as a Wildcat with 21 blocks, 16 aces and a team-leading 381 kills.

West Ranch finished 20-5 overall and tied with Hart for the league title after being swept by the Indians on Oct. 17 to finish league play. The Wildcats bounced back to make it to the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 playoffs before dropping a match in five games to Paloma Valley.

It was difficult to pick a specific moment in the season, but Jacobs was able to narrow it down as she thought about her favorite memory of the season. 

“My favorite memory has to be when we played Paloma Valley because even though we lost, we still came together as a team and had fun,” she said.

The other athlete to win the award this year is Ruby Duncan, who felt that this was a great way to finish her senior season. 

“It feels really nice knowing that my senior year was my best performance. It’s a nice way to end the season and my high school career,” said Duncan

Hart defenders Ruby Duncan (10) and Audrey Welch (24) go up to block a shot by Los Alamitos at Hart on Oct. 24. Dan Watson/The Signal

Hart finished 12-6 on the season, only losing once in league play 3-0 to West Ranch on Sept. 26. The Indians returned the favor by sweeping them on senior night Oct. 17 to tie with the Wildcats for the league title. 

“It was the last time playing in my home gym, I had family and friends watching me and I had my team surrounding me,” said Duncan. “We were also playing for a league title and that just made it that much better and more intense.”

The Indians fell to Los Alamitos in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 2 playoffs.

Jacobs will continue her volleyball career at UCLA, while Duncan will be playing at The Master’s University.

First Team

Megan Soto, Sr., Hart

Lina Elsee, Sr., Hart

Jacqueline Ibarra, Sr., Saugus

Kaelyn White, Sr., Valencia

Alyssa Grodell, Sr., Valencia

Kaitlyn Jizmejian, So., West Ranch

Erin Eskoff, Jr., West Ranch

Second Team

Jordyn Nunez, Sr., Golden Valley

Grace Eck, Sr., Hart

Sabrina Sveiven, Jr., Hart

Lauryn Thompson, Jr., Saugus

Jaela Bernard, Sr., Valencia

Gwen Garate, Sr., West Ranch

Olivia Hoffman, Sr., West Ranch

Honorable Mention

Ariana Vargas, Sr., Canyon

Saliyah Ravare, Jr., Golden Valley

Kylie Tengberg, So., Hart

Milani Lee, Fr., Saugus

Macy Kirkwood, Sr., Valencia

Kiley Gustin, So., West Ranch

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