Two local volleyball teams were dropped and four remain after the CIF opening round on Thursday. In fact, every local team not in Division 3 advanced.
Here’s everything you need to know before the second round of CIF playoffs.
Valencia advances, will host Bishop Diego
The Vikings took care of business in the first-round Division 5 matchup with Westridge of Pasadena.
Valencia won in four sets with scores of 25-13, 23-25, 26-16 and 25-21.
The Vikings now advance and remain at home to host the Bishop Diego Cardinals (14-14).
The Cardinals are led by outside hitter Eliana Urzua. Urzua’s big swing has delivered multiple 20-kill nights.
Valencia’s blocking and passing has improved immensely throughout the season. They’ll need all of that improvement and effort in order to advance to the quarterfinals.
The Vikings host the Cardinals on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Saugus opens up with Thousand Oaks
The Centurions finally hit the court Saturday and host the Thousand Oak Lancers (22-15).
Saugus will need to deal with outside hitters Tabitha Greene and Mia Curtain. The outside pair led the Lancers in their CIF opening-round win over Warren with a combined 25 kills.
Saugus has looked sharp all season with talented players overflowing the team roster. Setter Milani Lee will lead the Centurions, who remain unbeaten at home this year.
Key hitting from opposite Taylor Treahy, outsides Morgan Guardado and Leila Ballard will be vital for Saugus.
The Centurions embark on their playoff run Saturday at 3 p.m.
SCCS survives Oak Park late surge, advances
Santa Clarita Christian held off Oak Park in its home CIF opener in a five-set victory. Setter-opposite hitter Kaysa Brown registered a triple double to help the team advance.
The Cards won with scores of 16-25, 25-19, 25-22, 24-26 and 15-12.
Brown had a masterful performance and tallied up 19 kills, 22 assists, 10 digs and three blocks.
Hannah Shaffer also had a double-double with 12 kills and 18 digs.
“It was a tough match against a big team,” said SCCS head coach Darcy Brown. “I was proud of our girls for playing extremely hard and never giving up.”
The Cards now advance and will travel to Fontana to face the Kaiser Cats (15-10).
SCCS and Kaiser face off Saturday at 6 p.m.
Trinity sweeps Coastal Christian, returns home to face Coachella Valley
Trinity (19-8) is off to a smooth start in the playoffs and is the only local team with a clean sweep in the first round.
The Knights won the Division 7 first-round matchup with scores of 25-11, 26-24 and 25-12.
Senior Emma Carver led the team with 11 kills, five digs and a block. Middle Jordan Hahn posted six kills and six aces. Libero Viviana Haro finished with 12 digs and three aces.
“We executed our game plan with confidence and energy throughout the entire match to stop their main hitter,” said Trinity head coach Rebecca Peluffo. “The girls played great defense tonight, getting great touches off the block and were able to make some hustle plays that kept the momentum swinging our way.”
The Knights return home to host a staggering Coachella Valley (22-1) team. Coachella Valley dominated the Desert Valley League and dropped just six sets on the year.
Senior Mia Sifuentes leads the team with 222 kills on the year, just ahead of sophomore Leslie Delgado, at 194.
Trinity takes on Coachella Valley Saturday at 5 p.m. at Canyon.
West Ranch goes down in five to Serrano
The Wildcats (10-12) had a tough task in the first round and came up just short in five sets. West Ranch traveled to the undefeated Serrano Diamondbacks for their Division 3 opener.
Serrano won with scores of 25-13, 25-15, 23-25, 19-25 and 15-12.
The Cats played lights-out with their backs against the wall but fell just a few points short of handing the Diamondbacks their first loss of the year.
It was a wild year for West Ranch but the team still managed to find a way to make the playoffs. The team will graduate an elite middle blocker tandem in Tori Davis and Sophia Lynch as well as some talented pin hitters.
The Wildcats will retain a ton of talent and head coach Jamey Ker should have this team back into Foothill League contention next season.
Hart knocked out by San Marcos
The Indians were knocked out much earlier than they were expecting. Hart came out unscathed and won its previous two matchups against the Royals this year but couldn’t pull one more together on Thursday.
San Marcos won with scores of 26-24, 11-25, 25-18 and 26-24.
Hart doesn’t achieve the ending it wanted but it was an outstanding year for the volleyball program. The team graduates a handful of key seniors but will return a huge junior class for their senior seasons.
