Roundup: Valencia keeps pace with West Ranch, Golden Valley starts off league with victory
West Ranch High School boys’ volleyball head coach Brandon Johnson said it’s been a different feeling this season as his Wildcats have gone from being the hunters last year to being the hunted.
“Last year we had zero expectations, and we were the hunters,” Johnson said. “We were chasing down teams. We were the ‘underdog’ team. Now, we’re the team being hunted. It’s a completely different mindset for the boys. So, if they can continue just being focused on the point, just keep passing, keep playing their game, we will be successful.”
The Wildcats have found success early on in 2025, picking right up where they left off in 2024 when they captured the CIF Southern Section Division 4 crown — beating league rival Valencia in a sweep to do so — and went all the way to the SoCal Division 3 final.
West Ranch made it two wins in two league matches on Thursday, beating the Canyon Cowboys at home in a sweep, 25-21, 25-19, 25-20, in a match that saw the Wildcats smelling blood in the water at the end of each set.
Once the Wildcats (9-2, 2-0) got close to 20 points in each set, a switch seemed to flip and the Cowboys (5-2, 1-1), hanging with their opponent throughout, were hit with a series of killer blows.
At the heart of each of those set-ending runs was Wildcats senior Noah Douphner, who recorded a match-high 23 kills, including the final one in each set.
“They’re real tough,” Douphner said. “It was a back-and-forth game the entire time, and all it is is that little bit of separation at the end of the game. You can be at the same score the entire game, but if you separate near the end, that’s all that matters.”
A Cal State University, Northridge, commit, Douphner showed why he was recruited by the No. 7 team in the country in the March 3 American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, displaying his powerful ball-striking ability. But he also showed his prowess leading from the back with five aces, including three in the first set as part of a five-point swing for the Wildcats.
The Cowboys have a couple of hard hitters of their own in junior Blake Hastings and senior Jayden Hayes. Hastings led Canyon with 14 kills, just ahead of Hayes’ 11 kills.
“We’ve been working a lot on them being more consistent, being more terminal,” said Canyon head coach Jeff Cody. “Blake has really turned it on this year. He was one of the reasons why on Tuesday (at) Saugus, we were a little flat and slow, and he was a huge factor. Both him and Jayden really are the reasons why we were able to hold up Saugus, you know, keep them at bay and take that that win.”
Senior James Audette recorded 33 assists for Canyon, on par with the West Ranch setting duo of senior Jackson Manansala and sophomore Stephen Choi, who had 18 and 15 assists, respectively.
Cody thinks that with how tight each set was that the reverse matchup with West Ranch at Canyon High later this season should be a fun one.
“We’re excited about playing them in our place, that’s for sure,” Cody said. “We need to just tighten the screws a little bit, make more serves, you know, just different things, little things to work on. But I don’t think the scores reflect how the match went, if anyone saw how there’s a back and forth, a lot of swings, a lot of defense, a lot of great plays on both sides.”
Along with Douphner’s match-winning performance, West Ranch had senior Lucas Fico record four kills and senior Jacob Kim get three. Senior Logan Sanchez had 10 digs and senior Christopher Song had eight digs. Manansala added 10 digs.
The Wildcats will look to make it three wins to start league play when they have their first road league match on Tuesday at Saugus.
Canyon has its league bye on Tuesday and will instead face Village Christian at home on Tuesday in non-league action. The Cowboys return to league play on Thursday at home against Golden Valley.
Here’s what else happened in the second round of Foothill League boys’ volleyball play on Thursday:
Valencia 3, Saugus 2: The Valencia Vikings (9-3, 2-0) kept pace with West Ranch by beating the Saugus Centurions (4-5, 0-2) on the road in five sets, 20-25, 14-25, 25-20, 25-11, 15-13.
Josh Lane had 17 kills to lead Saugus while Owen Jackson had 12 kills. Riley Arana had 17 digs and Manny Ranit had 25 assists and 15 digs.
Golden Valley 3, Castaic 1: The Golden Valley Grizzlies (8-5, 1-0) started off their league campaign with a four-set win on the road at Castaic (4-3, 0-2), 25-23, 25-17, 26-28, 25-22.
Lem Espejo recorded 40 assists for Golden Valley while USC commit Nick Waldron had 18 kills and five aces.
Castaic saw Michael Schubert get 12 kills and four blocks.
