Canyon Cowboys girls’ volleyball has broken tradition early in the 2024 season. The Cowboys have looked revitalized as a program with strong defense, serving and pin hitting fueling the hot start to the season.
Canyon swept Golden Valley 25-17, 25-20, 25-22, on Tuesday at home, with all three of those aspects and outside hitter Parys Taylor shining bright.
Taylor was ready for Golden Valley (6-3, 2-1) and showed it from the jump. The outside hitter fired down eight straight kills on as many attempts, showcasing efficiency from her big swing. The junior credits the win to her team’s high-energy play.
“I think our energy is good,” Taylor said. “If we’re down a couple points, we go, ‘OK, let’s go,’ and our energy is back up.”
Taylor finished the day with 21 kills, more than the entire Grizzlies team, while also adding steady serving and passing for Canyon (12-6, 2-2).
“When (Taylor’s) on, she’s on, and she can find that fire,” said Cowboys coach Samantha Holcombe. “There’s not really an off button, so when she does, it’s pretty exciting to watch … You feed her the ball, and you got a pretty good chance of her getting a kill, so we like to do that. Obviously, if we’re going against a good block, you have to move the ball around, but she found a lot of the court today, even for the back row.”
Both teams entered Tuesday’s Foothill League battle coming off historic wins over the Hart Hawks. Canyon beat Hart for the first time in 17 seasons while Golden Valley earned the program’s first-ever win over the Hawks.
The Grizzlies were ready for another go-around with the Cowboys but got off to a slow start. Canyon’s offense fired away with big kills from Taylor and captain Layla Tejeda, but little mistakes from the Cowboys kept Golden Valley in the game.
Tejeda got off to a slow start in the second set but was pivotal in helping Canyon pull away. The outside hitter added her first kill of the set to earn a 16-16 tie before a solo block gave the Cowboys the lead on the next play. She later hit an ace off the tape of the net to give Canyon set point.
Tejeda finished the night with 10 kills and two aces.
Taylor was close to ending the set but was stuffed by a solid Grizzly block. However, the junior got her revenge quickly, after winning the second game on a block with middle Olivia Turner.
Canyon was in full control of the match but stumbled in the third. Golden Valley capitalized on some sloppy serve receive and jumped out to a 5-0 lead.
The Cowboys were forced to play from behind for most of the set. Canyon libero Mary Audish hit back-to-back aces to swing momentum before a Taylor kill gave the Cowboys their first lead, 10-9, in the third.
Golden Valley setter Naomi Smith kept her team afloat with some solid serving and added three aces in the final set. Smith’s twin sister, Sophie, led the Grizzlies with seven kills.
A Grizzly service error set up match point before senior Jorgia Horwedel closed out the night with her third ace, giving Canyon its first win over Golden Valley in two seasons.
“It was close and we had to work for it. (The Grizzlies are) a smart volleyball team,” Holcombe said. “They find the open area, so our defense had to figure that out, and once we adjusted, it worked out.”
Taylor missed a big chunk of 2023 with an injury. The outside hitter didn’t look like she missed any time at all and is continuing to improve as one of the premier hitters in the Foothill League.
“I did miss six weeks to eight weeks, but now coming back, I feel better and stronger for sure,” Taylor said.
Canyon will look to make it three straight wins on Thursday when the team hosts Valencia. Golden Valley will continue its road stretch and head to Saugus on Thursday. Both matches are slated for 5 p.m. with temperatures finally set to drop under 100 degrees.
“Thursday will be a battle,” Holcombe said. “Hopefully they can bring their mental toughness and hopefully it’s cooler in these gyms.”
