Consistent serving and an impressive blocking outing powered Canyon girls’ volleyball to another postseason victory.
The Cowboys swept the hosting St. Anthony Knights of Long Beach on Saturday to advance to the CIF Division 5 quarterfinals.
Canyon won the match, 25-22, 25-17, 25-20, giving head coach Samantha Holcombe her second career postseason victory.
“We were pretty in control, but we certainly had to earn our points,” Holcombe wrote in an email. “Our serve receive was great and we were able to run our middles a lot. Both middles, Olivia MacDonald and Olivia Turner, had season-high hitting percentage. Our block was also efficient, which made defense and digs consistent.”
Turner and Breanna Flanary both added a pair of blocks, which made life a bit easier for the Cowboys’ back row.
Canyon (20-13) returned libero Mary Audish to the lineup. Audish missed Canyon’s playoff opener with an injury but now earned her first playoff win on the court with a solid 10 digs.
“Mary’s defense is what was missed most with her out in our first playoff game,” Holcombe said. “Her leadership on the court, verbally and physically, gives everyone confidence.”
St. Anthony (21-13) had trouble slowing down and getting around Canyon junior Parys Taylor, who totaled 13 kills and 15 digs.
The Cowboys’ serve kept the Knights out of rhythm and pushed Canyon ahead in crunch time. Layla Tejeda, Mallory Lindner and Theone Nyguyen all added three aces for Canyon.
Nguyen also led the offense with 23 assists.
“Strong serving, with 11 aces, also helped us with confidence and keeping momentum,” Holcombe said. “With the strong passing, Theone Nguyen was able to move the ball around to different hitters and made the other team’s block inconsistent. Truly a team effort win.”
Canyon is now in its deepest playoff run in over 20 years. The group entered the postseason with no CIF experience but has impressed its coach with a pair of Division 5 wins.
“Saturday was an important match for us,” Holcombe said. “It showed the team they have the potential to win big games and gave them confidence going into quarterfinals, especially after a shaky first playoff match. Multiple players were productive, which doesn’t always happen for us, and if we can keep that up going into Wednesday, I’m excited to see what the girls can do.”
Canyon now returns home and will host the Flintridge Prep Wolves (22-7). While the Cowboys can’t afford to look past the Wolves, a win could set up a potential all-Santa Clarita Valley semifinals and a rematch with Valencia.
The Vikings will also need to get through their difficult quarterfinals match with the Palm Desert Aztecs but next week could mark the second 2024 marquee SCV volleyball playoff match following the West Ranch and Valencia boys CIF finals back in May.
Either way, Canyon is locked in on Flintridge Prep. It’s only getting tougher from here but Holcombe is excited to see her team continue to grow and play back at home.
“I’m hoping we can continue to have strong serve receive to move the ball around to all of our hitters,” Holcombe said. “When they play as a team, and every position gets involved, that’s when we’re at our best. We hope to have a loud crowd in our favor and use this home game to our advantage.”
Canyon and Flintridge fight for a spot in the CIF semifinals on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Canyon High School.
