SCCS SWEEPS TRINITY AGAIN

Prep volleyball: SCCS ties for first in league by beating Trinity

During the team meal before Tuesday night’s match against Trinity Classical Academy, Santa Clarita Christian School girls volleyball was jittery with excitement.

“But there was that other side of it that we had to remember where we are, where we came from and knowing that Trinity is an amazing team,” said SCCS setter Megan Dombrowski.

The Cardinals went on to sweep the Knights that evening at The Master’s University, marking their second sweep against Trinity this season.

The 3-0 final score wasn’t easy to come by, though, and the Cards certainly weren’t expecting an easy match. SCCS jumped out to a 5-1 lead to open the first game and clung to that lead until a Cardinal hit went long to make it 9-9.

Although the Cardinals (12-4-1 overall,

7-1 in Heritage League) quickly bounced back, the game was tied three more times before Aaronya Crosswhite ended it at 25-23 will a kill set up by Dombrowski.

“Between setter and hitter, you have to talk after every ball,” Dombrowski said. “...It’s really important that we talk like that or else we’re not going to get the hits that we get.”

SCCS was the first to dent the scoreboard in Game 2 as well, but the Knights (11-6-1, 4-3) gained a 4-3 advantage on a Hannah Caddow kill. The two teams went point-for-point in the frame until the Cardinals went on a five-point scoring run capped by another Crosswhite kill.

Moments later, Dombrowski executed a kill for herself to seal the game at 25-20.

Trinity trailed throughout the third game, with their best chance at a lead coming on a Caddow kill that brought the score to 21-17 in the Cardinals’ favor. Dombrowski matched up with Caddow for blocks regularly, as the two play on the same club team.

“Since I know most of her tendencies and I feel like after we knew we had to block line and we

needed to go straight over the block and we needed to press really hard or else it was going to break through our hands,” Dombrowski said.

With the win, SCCS now shares the first-place spot in the Heritage League with Faith Baptist, who is also 7-1. Trinity is tied for third in league with Palmdale Aerospace Academy.

The Knights next play Palmdale Aerospace Academy on Thursday and SCCS is at Vasquez on the same day.

“We’re just looking forward to CIF, looking forward to getting first place in league and focusing on that,” Dombrowski said.

Dan Watson/The Signal (See additional photos on signalscv.com) Santa Clarita Christian School celebrates a point against Trinity Classical Academy at The Master’s University on Tuesday. The Cardinals swept the Knights for the second time this season.

Dan Watson/The Signal (See additional photos on signalscv.com) Santa Clarita Christian School’s Aaronya Crosswhite (1) puts a shot over the net against Trinity Classical Academy defender Tamar Tchilingirian (8) at The Master’s University on Tuesday.

Dan Watson/The Signal (Above) SCCS’ Ashley Rens (4) dives for a save. (Below) Trinity Classical Academy’s Paige Kim (16) put a shot over the net against Santa Clarita Christian School’s Courtney Lotz (10) and Paige Clayton (17).