Through the first seven games of the Foothill League, West Ranch girls’ volleyball has extended its undefeated streak following a win over Castaic.
The Wildcats swept the Coyotes in straight sets, 25-13, 25-7, 25-18, and have yet to give up a set to their opposition in league play.
“It’s an interesting thing because it’s not necessarily the goal,” Wildcats head coach Jamey Ker said. “We have a very process-minded approach to this and it’s making sure we take care of this touch and this rally and these things. And if we do that then it turns into a three-set win.”
The Wildcats (12-3, 7-0) have only given up nine sets the whole season in the 15 games they’ve played, with the last set loss coming in August in a defeat to Marymount.
The Wildcats opened the first set with 9-7 lead over Castaic (14-10, 3-5) following a kill from Devyn Kobe.
West Ranch extended its lead 18-10 following a 9-3 scoring run that was ended by a kill by Coyotes opposite hitter Arielle Greene.
The Wildcats won the first set with an explosive kill from Gioia Nicolas-Piccolino and carried that momentum into the second as West Ranch opened the set with four straight points.
The Coyotes were never able to land any shots the second set. The Wildcats rallied to win in dominating fashion that featured multiple West Ranch hitters registering a kill.
Ker credited the feat to the depth the team has, and the ability to compete in all three sets with whoever is out on the court — added that it’s all about getting better as a unit.
“It’s a really nice feeling that I can put any variation of a lineup out there and feel pretty good about,” Ker said. “It’s not just giving people playing time or throwing them a bone. It’s giving them opportunities to get better at the things that I need them to get better at. And then they carry that into practice the next day and then our practices look that much better. So, it’s just this constant cycle of everybody on the team contributing.”
Dani Clewis led the team in kills with eight in nine attack attempts and ended the game with a mighty 88.9% kill percentage.
In the third set, West Ranch led 6-3 following a Castaic hitting error but the Coyotes came back to tie the set at six apiece, then took the lead after a hitting error by Clewis.
But the lead was short-lived as mistakes by the Coyotes’ offense kept West Ranch within striking distance.
The teams were tied at 16 apiece following a mistake from West Ranch’s side but the Wildcats played clean to finish out the third set with a 9-3 scoring run topped off with a kill from Kobe.
Following the win, the Wildcats hold a half-game lead over the Saugus Centurions, who sport a 7-1 Foothill League record after a win over Golden Valley.
On Tuesday, the California Interscholastic Federation released the latest rankings that determine playoff placement that previews West Ranch as the 12th ranked team in the Southern Section.
With the playoffs just about three weeks away, the Wildcats are en route to play in the Division 1 Southern Section Championship, but despite the recent rankings, Ker just wants his team ready for whatever competition the team faces at the end of the season.
“I know we’re a good Division 1 team. I know that we belong there and we’ve proven that already by playing these top Division 1 teams incredibly well,” Ker said. “I think we’re just going to continue to spend more time worrying about how we can be the best we possibly can be at the end of the season. And then once we do get to that postseason, we start scouting, we start having those conversations about how we compete against those teams in the division we landed.”
The Wildcats play again on Friday at home, hosting Golden Valley with the game set to begin at 5:30 p.m.
As for Castaic, the Coyotes will look to rebound at home on Friday with visiting Hart. Their game is set to start at 5 p.m.
