After 17 years of a lopsided rivalry, Canyon girls’ volleyball ended the drought on Wednesday.
The Cowboys swept the Hart Hawks on the road, 25-15, 25-10, 25-23, for the program’s first win over Hart since 2007, which also marked Canyon’s first league win of the season.
Canyon junior Parys Taylor led all players with a match-high 19 kills while also adding 10 digs.
Taylor was lethal, but smart serving also powered the Cowboys (8-3, 1-2) through most of the match. Canyon was able to keep Hart (1-7, 1-1) out of system for a good chunk of the match with some tough serving that kept the offense from swinging away.
Mallory Linder and setter Theone Nguyen led the Cowboys with three aces each. Ngyuen played well in her new role and added 31 assists in the win. The new setter spread out the offense well as senior captain Layla Tejeda also added seven kills.
“Theone sees the game really well,” Canyon coach Samantha Holcombe said in a phone interview. “She’s adjusting to what her best targets are, and finding the best hitter in each situation.”
Numerous players on the court weren’t even born yet when Canyon last beat Hart. Now Holcombe’s eight seniors can say they finally bested Hart once, while the rest of the team can keep working on more wins over their league rival.
“I’ve been around this valley with volleyball for a while, even as a kid, and it’s nice to see there’s some change in the typical top three when it comes to girls’ volleyball,” Holcombe said. “It’s been pretty much the same for a really long time.”
Canyon entered the match having its confidence fairly rattled after back-to-back straight set losses to Saugus and West Ranch. Wednesday’s win now propels the Cowboys back into the win column and hopefully does the same with the team’s confidence.
“I hope that it shows them that we can do it, and that maybe we can battle harder against Saugus and West Ranch rather than going three and out,” Holcombe said. “We still have tough battles with the rest of this first round of league. Hopefully that gives them some more confidence that we can be successful.”
Holcombe knows plenty of tough matches lie ahead for Canyon. The coach will aim to keep her girls improving, starting with their passing, in order to keep the Cowboys’ trajectory on target for the postseason.
“(We have to) tighten up our passing, because that makes a successful offense,” Holcombe said. “We have all the tools up front to be successful and put the ball away. I hope that seeing something that hasn’t happened in quite some time, that the girls know that they can maybe ruffle some other feathers in tougher league games.”
Canyon heads into tournament play at Chatsworth High School over the weekend before returning for a three-match homestand starting on Tuesday when the Cowboys host the Golden Valley Grizzlies.
