The Valencia girls’ volleyball team holds the third spot in the Foothill League standings going into the final week of the regular season and is looking to generate some momentum with timely wins.
The Vikings swept Golden Valley in straight sets, 25-11, 25-19, 25-15, and secured a playoff berth by being in the top four in the Foothill League standings.
“We want to go to the playoffs, that’s the mission,” Valencia head coach Kristin Dolan said. “So, this was the goal that for the last few games and then we get to celebrate our seniors.”
With the win, Valencia (15-14, 6-5) now awaits the playoffs brackets to be released by the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section on Saturday to determine when and where they’ll be playing.
And although there is still one more league game left to be played, Dolan has her team exactly where she wants them as they head into the next portion of the season.
“We kept talking about the season in three parts,” she said. “You got summer, you have preseason, and then you have playoffs. So, now it’s kind of a mental reset and just focusing on one match at a time, because if you lose then you go home. So, everything will be on the line at that point. And we’ve prepared all season for that.”
The Vikings are going into the postseason with a lot of momentum behind them.
Valencia now has back-to-back sweeps over league opponents, and its offense looked ready for postseason play in Tuesday’s win.
In every set, the Vikings won by big margins, especially in the third set when their team sealed the sweep, winning 25-15.
And with six different players registering a kill in the win, the Vikings will look to carry that energy and execution into the final game of the season and into the playoffs.
As for Golden Valley (4-26-2, 0-12), the game marks the final game of the season for the Grizzlies and one to forget following the team not registering a single league win all season.
Despite the loss, Golden Valley head coach Jack Johnson believes that the 2025 season can be a foundation for future seasons with what the team learned.
“Our goal this year was to get better, to be good teammates to each other and support each other throughout the way,” Johnson said. “We knew going into the season that we had a lot of new faces and a lot of old faces and made sure they meshed together.”
Now looking ahead, the one goal Johnson has for his team next year – to keep getting better.
“I am really, really excited about getting ready for next season,” he said. “I think that we are definitely on an upward trajectory. This was not the end of the story, this is kind of the beginning of the story.”
As for Valencia, the Vikings were set to play their final game Wednesday night at home, hosting the West Ranch Wildcats at 5 p.m.
