For the second time in six months, two local volleyball teams will meet for a third time and battle deep in the CIF postseason.
The Canyon Cowboys (21-13) will host the Valencia Vikings (17-15) in the teams’ third meeting of the season with a berth in the CIF Division 5 finals on the line.
The Vikings swept the Cowboys in both matches this season, with Canyon only finishing within three points in two sets. The teams’ first game against one another ended 29-27 in favor of the visiting Valencia.
Everything from the past six sets has been thrown out the window as both teams know their league rivals have improved dramatically since last facing off over three weeks ago.
Valencia fans will remember their boys’ volleyball team dominated West Ranch in the regular season before being swept by the Wildcats in the CIF finals back in May. That being said, there’s no need to explain the difficulty of beating an opponent three times in one season.
On top of dealing with a much-improved Cowboys squad, Vikes coach Kristin Dolan told The Signal about these difficulties.
“To beat someone three times in one season, and a quality team, is going to be tough,” Dolan said. (Canyon is) playing probably their best volleyball now, and I don’t think that we’ve seen them play their best volleyball yet. We’re gonna make sure that we’re ready on our side and then hopefully work to slow them down. They’re tough and they pass well.”
The feeling is mutual over in Canyon Country where the Cowboys know it’ll take everything to best the Vikings with the stakes this high. Despite not beating Valencia in a single set since 2022, the Cowboys know they can beat their league rivals.
Canyon coach Samantha Holcombe is thrilled for the sport, the Foothill League and for her girls to get one more shot at taking down Valencia.
“I think it’s super awesome for Foothill and for Santa Clarita, just for both of us to make it to the semis,” Holcombe said. “The girls are pumped to play against them. They play with them on club teams. I think we weren’t even done celebrating our (quarterfinals) win when we found out we were playing against Valencia. They’re just ready to roll.”
Valencia is playing its best volleyball of the season thanks to some big strides in the Vikings’ serving and passing.
Three Vikings ended their quarterfinals match win over Palm Desert with six or more aces while three Valencia standouts added at least 17 digs. Vikings libero Addison DeGard notched both categories with a match-high 31-digs along with six aces.
Valencia’s swing on the net has also improved. Junior setter Cayden Hobrecker has built a strong trust in all of her teammates, including outside hitters Annika Puno and Kayla Rust, middle blockers Nyla Willstead and Makayla Garcia, opposite hitter Mackenzie Hancsicsak as well as some solid-swinging defensive specialists.
No one runs through its middles more than the Vikings so look for Canyon’s middle blockers Olivia Turner and Olivia Macdonald to be ready for anything at center court.
The Cowboys are also surging thanks to much-improved passing and serving. Libero Mary Audish has been all over the back row but Holcbome trusts a plethora of starters and defensive specialists in covering the court. Captain Layla Tejeda will likely give the Vikings some problems off the serve.
“(Tejeda is) the best server on their team, so we’re gonna have to make sure that we take care of that too,” Dolan said. “I think it’s gonna be a great match. I have a lot of respect for them and what they’ve done this season. But we are preparing like it’s a semifinal match of CIF, regardless of who we’re playing.”
Dolan will also need to zero in on slowing down Canyon outside hitter Parys Taylor. Dolan coaches the fiery outside hitter in the club circuit so she knows firsthand how tricky it’ll be to slow down Taylor, who’s coming off a 25-kill night.
The Vikings coach has watched her team take immense strides this season and doesn’t know if she would’ve predicted this is where Valencia would end up four months ago.
“It’s kind of crazy, but it is a testament to their hard work this season,” Dolan said. “I don’t think that I would have said that this was going to be us back in July, but we’ve progressed, so now I’m not surprised just based on the work that they’ve put in. And they’re a cool group of kids.”
One team will end up in the CIF Division 5 finals but the season doesn’t end for the other. Both teams will advance into the state tournament in a little over a week with the hopes of adding a first-ever state title to their resume.
The Vikings now return to the CIF semifinals for the first time since 2015, when Valencia won but finished as the CIF silver medalist.
Canyon has never made it this far in the playoffs and can add a sweet cherry on top with a victory over Valencia.
“I hope we can pull it off,” Holcombe said. “It’s such an accomplishment to make it this far and to play like we’ve been playing. It’d be really awesome to make it all the way to the championship.”
Both teams have had strong energy from their fans at home matches so Canyon’s gym is expected to be rocking on Saturday.
“Our student section yesterday was awesome, and they’re pretty amped and excited,” Dolan said. “They said they’re ready for Saturday. It’s such a fun environment for the girls to play in a gym like that. So we’re really excited to see what it looks like Saturday. I hope it’s a great game, and hopefully we can pull off a W.”
The Cowboys and Vikings meet one more time this season on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Canyon High School.
