Change of attitude
Prep boys v-ball: Canyon clinches victory over Grizzlies
The Canyon boys volleyball team found itself in need of an attitude adjustment midway through Thursday’s match with visiting Golden Valley at Canyon High School.
Head coach Jeff Cody was happy to oblige.
The Cowboys responded to a second-set loss that evened the match, by jumping out in front in set three and running away in set four to win the match 3-1.
“Our attitude needed a big adjustment,” Cody said. “We came in here in between game three and I just reminded them you can’t be selfish. It’s not about you. The more you focus on yourself, the worse you’re going to play. Everyone took that to heart and started playing for each other.”
Canyon won the match by set scores of 25-21, 1924, 25-21, 25-11.
After the pep talk from Cody, Canyon closed the door in game three, punctuated by an ace from Dustin Deisbeck.
That momentum bled into the fourth set, as Canyon used a 14-1 run to open up a 14-2 lead.
“(That run) was really helpful,” Cody said. “It gave us a lot of confidence and reminded them that the more they play for each other, the better they play. That run helped with reinforcing that.”
Deisbeck led Canyon with 20 kills, with Eric Lopez adding five blocks and
Ryan Sloan finishing with 29 aces and three kills.
“(Dustin) plays fundamental volleyball,” said Cody of his opposite hitter. “He doesn’t make mistakes; he’s really good at finding his hand on the ball; he plays textbook volleyball, which starts to show when games are on the line. We need that guy who is going to go out and do exactly what I need him to do.”
After a strong start to the match, the Grizzlies mistakes began to snowball down the stretch -- culminating in the runaway loss in set four.
“We played with an intensity that didn’t show up after we won that second set,” said Golden Valley head coach Daniel Tice. “I think they just got in our heads when we got in the hole. We tried to bounce back, but never mentally pushed through that block, and we let it get away from us at that point.”
The victory puts Canyon on the board in the Foothill League, improving its record to 10-10 overall and 1-2 in league play.
The Grizzlies sit at 3-7, 0-3.
Danny Sachoff (seven kills), Eric Castro (seven kills) and Gage Pierce (16 assists) led Golden Valley.
“We slept on them for sure,” Cody said of the Grizzlies. “I told them (Wednesday) if you come out and sleep on GV they’ll beat you. They’re a good enough team to catch you off guard.”
Canyon absorbed the early punches, and bounced back just in time.