Santa Clarita Christian School beats San Pedro in three sets; moves on to state semi-finals

By Ryan Menzie 

Signal Sports Writer 

The Santa Clarita Christian School Cardinals (35-0) continue rolling through the postseason with another resounding victory against the San Pedro Pirates (18-12) on Saturday, winning in three sets for the 34th time this season (25-19, 25-13, 25-14).  

The Cardinals are operating with home court advantage all the way until the end of the state playoffs and are now two victories away from winning the CIF State Division 5 championship.  

The Cardinals have shown what they are capable of all season in offense as teams have been unable to stop their relentless attack, but even against the better teams in the postseason their philosophy remains the same.  

For Cardinals’ head coach Darcy Brown, the camaraderie among the girls being able to communicate on the court and playing stifling defense is what has taken them to the next level.  

“It is so important for our girls to have been playing such great defense against the bigger opponents we have faced this postseason,” said Brown. “The girls are peaking at the right time against the harder competition. When you’re only playing three sets, sometimes it’s harder to show off that defensive skill and capability. It’s proven to show itself more the further we’ve gone and the girls have really hung in on that. Our success has been great and we just have to go out and play to win.  

The Cardinals’ overpowering attack was once again led by outside hitter Hannah Shaffer, who led the team with 11 kills while also accounting for 14 digs. Nevaeh Phillips finished right behind Shaffer with 10 kills, seven digs and three assists. Setter Kaysa Brown finished with eight kills, three digs, one block and a team-high 27 assists. Libero Chaney Brooks finished with three assists, two aces and a team-high 18 digs.  

The Cardinals continue their playoff run with a matchup against Garces Memorial on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Santa Clarita Christian.