Golden Valley Grizzlies boys’ volleyball didn’t flinch after dropping its opening set to the hosting Saugus Centurions. Instead, the Grizzlies took over the match and ended the night in the fourth set.
Golden Valley won the match 21-25, 25-14, 25-22, 25-15.
Senior outside hitter Ryan Ko led the Grizzlies (6-1, 2-1) with 19 kills, playing consistently in all four sets.
Ko was only topped by Saugus outside Taylor Phipps, who led the team to win the opening game with seven of his 20 kills.
The Grizzlies led 14-10, forcing Centurion head coach Kaitlyn Reiner to call a timeout.
“I just told them that they needed to limit their errors,” Reiner said. “We were down by four so I just said, ‘You need a sideout right now and tie the game, and then you need to finish this,’ and they just really listened in.”
Saugus (1-6, 1-2) erupted from there and worked its way back into the match. Blocking became the difference as a Javi Mata block retook the lead for Saugus and a stuff from Landon Cookston ended the first set.
Cookston also finished the night with 11 kills.
Grizzlies head coach Sam Hand thought his team just needed a little more focus to get the job done.
“We required them to be a little bit more focused and actually observing the game,” Hand said. “Play with a little less emotion and a little more observation. And we made those fixes pretty fast. Once we played more of a disciplined, methodical game, then we added energy.”
The Grizzlies came out focused and revitalized, led by their captain.
Ko exploded right away in the second set and scored eight of his team’s points with five kills and a trio of blocks. The senior’s big swing at outside was a big lift in the third set, where the Grizzlies ran away with momentum.
“I think Saugus really put up a good fight at the beginning, but I think that first set was a catalyst for the second set,” Ko said. “We just really had to push through and give it our all. I mean, at the beginning, we’re just the team that’s known for a cold start but I think we’ve gotten really, really good at heating up at the beginning.”
Saugus quickly matched Golden Valley’s demeanor and shook off the dropped set. Phipps registered a quick three kills in the pivotal third set. The Grizzlies worked their way up to a 22-17 lead but couldn’t shake Saugus off their tails.
Golden Valley outside hitter JC Navarro slammed down a kill to go up 24-20 before Akshay Karumuri took the third set with a quick set kill.
The Centurions serve receive struggled early in the fourth game, leading to a sizable deficit. The Grizzlies showed no intent of playing another five-set match and kept their foot on the gas as Navarro ended the night with a kill.
Navarro finished the match with eight kills and two aces.
Golden Valley is off to the program’s best start in seven years, and the team has already amassed the same number of league wins as that very year. Ko has big aspirations for the team in his senior season.
“I love this team,” Ko said. “I have high hopes but that’s the only thing I’m going to say. We have to stay humble and stay ready to beat any team because in the end, every single team in this district is beatable and vice versa. Every other team could beat any other team. In the end, it’s just about who put the most effort out there. And I think honestly, with this team, we can go really far.”
Hand is pleased with his team’s start but the group is still nowhere near where he thinks they can be.
“I’m happy with what we’re doing but I’m still very forward-focused,” Hand said. “I still think we could be a much stronger-serving team. I think our serve receive is great and bad all at the same time. But our offense is powerful, and it’s hard to ignore that. So, it’s going really well but that could use work as well. I just remain positive but still not satisfied.”
Reiner also believes her group is nowhere near its potential. The first-year head coach will aim to boost the team’s confidence and ensure that they know they can play with anyone in the Foothill League.
“I just want their confidence to go up because they are a really good team,” Reiner said. “We have really good pieces. I just think they need to get their confidence up to really believe that they can do it.”
Golden Valley will look to keep inclining in tournament action over the weekend before heading to West Ranch on Wednesday. Saugus will look to shake off the rust on Tuesday when the team returns home to host Canyon.
