Valencia boys’ volleyball sweeps its way to CIF final 

The Valencia volley ball team erupts after winning the match against Poly at Valencia on Saturday, 050424. Dan Watson/The Signal
The Valencia volley ball team erupts after winning the match against Poly at Valencia on Saturday, 050424. Dan Watson/The Signal
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Valencia boys’ volleyball is heading to its first CIF Southern Section final since 2015 after the Vikings swept the Polytechnic Panthers at home on Saturday in the Division 4 semifinals. 

The Vikings (25-12) trailed for just a brief period at the beginning of the first set before showing their superiority over the Panthers (20-4), winning, 25-20, 25-16, 25-21. 

“I’m honestly super happy,” Valencia senior Dane Ricks said. “Everyone on our team has worked really hard to get here. We’ve put in so much effort. We have really good practices every day. And we’ve just put in the work and we want it more than any of these teams.” 

Looking for their first section title since 2008, the Vikings will have to beat a familiar opponent in the West Ranch Wildcats, who finished third in the Foothill League this year and won their semifinal in a sweep as well. Valencia beat West Ranch in both meetings in the regular season en route to the league title. 

“It’s hard to beat a team three times, but we’re gonna get it done,” Ricks said. 

Dane Ricks (4) and Dylan McFatridge (53) go up to block a shot against Poly at Valencia on Saturday, 050424. Dan Watson/The Signal
Dane Ricks (4) and Dylan McFatridge (53) go up to block a shot against Poly at Valencia on Saturday, 050424. Dan Watson/The Signal

On Saturday, Valencia trailed 4-0 to begin the match but then went on a 5-1 run to even things up early on. Valencia senior Jet Ricks had three of his team-high 18 kills during that stretch. The two teams battled back and forth throughout the rest of the first set before the Vikings finished on a 6-0 run to take the set. 

Senior Jarek Pascua hit a sinking line drive out of the back row to the back right corner for the final point. He said the Vikings had renewed energy at the beginning of the postseason and have ridden that to this point. 

“Coming into CIF playoffs, we brought a new energy to the team and I feel like that’s helped us for a lot of our games, especially round two against Laguna Blanca,” Pascua said. “But so far we’ve been doing the same thing that we’ve been doing all season.” 

The good times kept rolling for Valencia, starting the second set on a 5-0 run. The Panthers put together some small runs here and there throughout the rest of the match, but never enough to keep the Vikings from moving forward. 

Jet Ricks (99) of Valencia puts a shot over the net against Poly at Valencia on Saturday, 050424. Dan Watson/The Signal
Jet Ricks (99) of Valencia puts a shot over the net against Poly at Valencia on Saturday, 050424. Dan Watson/The Signal

Valencia head coach Brendan Riley said he felt his team’s experience was a big part of the Vikings’ dominance. Many of Valencia’s main players are juniors or seniors while Poly had a few sophomores and even a couple of freshmen on the roster. 

“That team is a young team but a lot better than I thought they were,” Riley said. “They haven’t played a lot of good teams this year, but they were good to serve, good to serve receive. We hadn’t struggled like that in serve receive most of this year and so credit to them.” 

The Vikings got contributions from nearly everyone who played. Dane Ricks was just behind his brother in kills with 10 to go along with three aces and three blocks. Pascua had eight kills and was all over the back line along with libero Nathan Willis to keep the Vikings alive. 

Leo Sangthongkum (21) of Valencia sets against Poly at Valencia on Saturday, 050424. Dan Watson/The Signal
Leo Sangthongkum (21) of Valencia sets against Poly at Valencia on Saturday, 050424. Dan Watson/The Signal

Willis finished with a team-high 10 digs and six different Vikings picked up at least one kill. Setter Leo Sangthongkum had a team-high 33 assists. 

“There’s no holes in our team at all. I trust every single person on the bench as well,” Pascua said. “We have no holes. The practices are typically harder than our games. I feel like a lot of credit is due to our practice players. Our practice players don’t get the credit that they deserve as much as the starters.” 

The Vikings and Wildcats are set to meet this coming Saturday at a site and time to be determined for the section crown. 

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