The previous losses against Valencia Vikings boys’ volleyball didn’t matter, West Ranch wanted this one.
West Ranch overcame its two losses earlier in the season and ascended to victory in the CIF Southern Section title match, beating Valencia in straight sets on Saturday.
The Wildcats became Division 4 champions by a hair with scores of 25-23, 30-28 and 26-24 at College of the Canyons.
Noah Douphner led West Ranch with 18 kills, including the championship-clinching point, where the junior doesn’t remember much after getting the backset from setter Jackson Manansala.
“Honestly, my mind was blank,” Douphner said. “I just sort of zoned out and let my volleyball instincts take it through me.”
The Cats took their lumps in league but sparked toward the end of the year and will enter the state tournament on an 11-match win streak, coincidentally snapping Valencia’s 10-game win streak.
“I feel great,” said Wildcats coach Brandon Johnson. “I’m just so proud of the boys. I told them this week, the fact that they won an academic award and already showed what kind of champions they are in the classroom, making the finals, already show the kind of champions that we are on the court and now we have a plaque that says champion just to prove it even more. I just couldn’t be more proud of the boys. I’m happy for our school, I’m happy for Santa Clarita, and I’m just happy to be in this position.”
Deuce sets, huge win streaks and monster outside hitters by both teams showcased the tightness of these two teams.
“It could have gone either way, two sets were deuce sets,” Douphner said. “I’m glad that we’ve had so many experiences playing in such tight matches and so many deuce sets that we are able to know how to continue pushing, keep our composure and win.”
Jet Ricks led the Vikings will 12 kills and two blocks.
Coming up big for West Ranch was outside hitter Logan Sanchez, who added 11 kills, a pair blocks and an ace in the title match.
“It’s incredible,” Sanchez said. “We put a lot of work in throughout the season. We came in as a wildcard not expected to do much. If I’m honest, there was a point where we thought maybe we should quit in the quarterfinals. We were all tired and thinking ‘This is really hard.’ But we decided, no, we’re gonna push through.”
Douphner took over the match in the first set with nine kills. The ball was spread around more in the following set with no one putting the ball away more than Sanchez, who ended the marathon set with his six kill of the game as he slammed down an overpass.
No one could pull away for two straight points late in the second.
Valencia had already come back and closed the gap down 23-16 in the first. Although the Vikes didn’t take the set, the team still looked capable of running wild back into the match. Valencia trailed 18-15 in the second before firing off several points to take the lead. Multiple kills from Sanchez and Valencia captain Jarek Pascua extended the set before Sanchez’s big kill.
Both teams stumbled at the end line in the third game, showing nerves and exhaustion. Some errors and mishaps on the Vikings’ side pushed West Ranch ahead early before the Wildcats returned the favors.
Despite the serving errors, West Ranch served well and forced Valencia out of system one too many times in the final set despite exceptional passing Pascua and libero Nathan Willis.
“The fact that basically it’s Nathan and Jared passing the whole court the two of them and they’re both phenomenal, it’s very, very hard to get them out system,” Johnson said. “It was just the goal for our team. We can live with some missed serves if we also can win some points off our serve. It doesn’t have to be aces, but it’s winning points when we serve so that is getting them out of system, getting touches on the block, digging some balls. If we’re able to do that, then we’re going to be effective when we did just enough tonight.”
Pascua added 10 kills for Valencia.
The Wildcats tied the set at 23-23 with a kill from middle blocker Lucas Reuter. Both teams kept fighting before Sanchez set up matchpoint with a kill, where Douphner ended the night with a kill from the right side.
Reuter tallied eight kills and a match-high three blocks.
Middle blocker Lucas Fico added four kills in the second set for West Ranch. The Wildcats may not have the biggest or strongest middles but the pair of Reuter and Fico along with the setting duo of freshman setter Stephen Choi and Manansala have the quickset down to the T.
West Ranch now becomes the second-straight CIF Division 4 champion from the Santa Clarita Valley, keeping the title local and in the Douphner household. Hart won the championship last year off the heels of a great all-around team led by Noah’s older brother, Owen Douphner, and fellow CSUN commit, Hank Kaufman.
“I texted (Sanchez) the night before,” Douphner said. “I said ‘The reason why Hart won the championship last year is because they had Owen and they had Hank that we’re able to support from behind. I can be my brother all I want but I need my Hank, I need someone that can stand right beside me and be another firepower and a reliable hitter. I think he did that perfectly tonight. I think it was amazing to see him step up to the plate and shine.”
Valencia finishes the season with its first Foothill League title in nine years. Reaching the title game was an incredible accomplishment and a great jump start for a program known for elite volleyball.
West Ranch heads into the state regional tournament on Tuesday with an opponent TBD. However, the CIF crown, the weekend and the SCV belong to West Ranch.
“It’s amazing to be the first West Ranch boys’ volleyball team to make it to the state playoffs,” Douphner said. “Ultimately, it’s one thing at a time, it was this match first and now we can focus on whoever we play in state. We’re not backing down, but it’s just amazing to see what we have accomplished today.”
