Plus, scores from around Tuesday’s first-round action
Following an unbeaten Foothill League championship season, the Wildcats earned a home matchup for the first round of girls’ volleyball Division 2 playoffs.
But after a straight-set sweep, the Notre Dame Knights of Sherman Oaks eliminated the Wildcats at West Ranch High School and ended their season on Tuesday.
“We just unfortunately didn’t really put the pieces together tonight. Certainly not what we expected from the evening,” West Ranch head coach Jamey Ker said afterward. “Everybody’s feeling a little bit of a gut punch right now. But the truth is, I spent most of my time in that huddle, just talking to the girls about the fact that we can’t define our season by one match.”
The Wildcats (22-7, 12-0), who entered Tuesday’s matchup against Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks (23-10, 1-7) winners of 16 out of their last 17 games, were ranked as the No. 15 team in the Southern Section’s final rankings.
Despite the loss, Ker reiterated that although his team’s season came to a sudden end, the program had a successful 2026 season.
For the second-consecutive season, the Wildcats were crowned as Foothill League champions and did so unbeaten in league play with a 12-0 record.
With a Foothill League title, and already high placement in the Southern Section’s rankings, this year’s group of Wildcats put West Ranch on the girls’ volleyball map no matter where the team finished in the playoffs.
“I still felt an immense amount of pride from this season, because of what we’ve done, and the fact that these girls have put West Ranch volleyball on the map,” Ker said. “We’ve become a state-respected team and we did that over the course of a long season.”
With the loss, the Wildcats are eliminated from the Southern Section’s Division 2 playoffs and they were the only local Santa Clarita Valley team to fall in Tuesday’s first-round action.
After a Division 2 California Interscholastic Federation runner-up finish last season, this year Ker says goodbye to Karleigh Larson, Lola Van Why, and Valentina Rezzara — three seniors who, Ker said, set the standard for years to come at West Ranch High School.
“The fact that these three girls have met that standard year in and year out is something that I think they should be really proud of,” he said. “All three had the best seasons they’ve ever had. You can’t ask for anything more from your seniors.”
Also in the first round on Tuesday:
Castaic 3, Oxford Academy 0: After making the Division 6 playoffs as an at-large team, the Castaic Coyotes advanced to the second round with a straight-set sweep over Oxford Academy in Tuesday’s first round.
With the win, the Coyotes snagged their 17th win of the season and will look to hit the road for the second round in a matchup against the Santa Fe Sentinels, who’ve advanced following a five-set win over Rancho Christian.
Thursday’s matchup between the Coyotes and Sentinels is scheduled for first serve at 6 p.m. at Santa Fe High School.
