Valencia vs. West Ranch volleyball, CIF championship match preview
One local boys’ volleyball program will walk away from Saturday’s CIF Southern Section Division 4 championship match with the perfect ending: winning the sectional championship against a league rival.
Valencia (25-12), the Foothill League champs, will aim for a third straight win over West Ranch (24-11) this season, while the Wildcats will swing their hardest for the CIF crown.
Valencia won both league battles in four sets, with no deuce games and just two sets ending with less than a four-point deficit.
The Wildcats are optimistic as they’ve grown immensely since the last two meetings with the Vikings. Valencia has also grown and believes it can win a third time but knows it cannot take West Ranch for granted.
“If we do get West Ranch, we’re not gonna underestimate them,” Valencia captain Jet Ricks said after the team’s quarterfinals win. “We’re still gonna give 1,000% because we know they are a good team. They are definitely capable of beating us, but I think it’s gonna be very difficult for them.”
Ricks and senior Jarek Pascua, arguably have been the best outside hitting duo in the league and perhaps in all of Division 4. The two have given Valencia an advantage on the left side, no matter which hitter is on the net.
“We have one more. We’re gonna win,” Pascua. “I’m confident against West Ranch. We’ve beaten them before, twice. I’m expecting a whole different team. I’m not gonna take it easy.”
Ricks’ brother Dane Ricks has shined as a left-handed opposite hitter while middle blockers Mariano Alberto and Dylan Mcfatridge have made Valencia difficult to hit against.
“I’m glad they made it, too,” Dane said. “I know a bunch of the guys on the team, and it’s gonna be a great game no matter what.”
However, Valencia’s defensive anchor resides in the back row in a libero jersey. Junior Nathan Willis has racked up over 300 digs this season, including 23 in his first match against West Ranch. Firstyear head coach Brendan Riley has praised his libero all season and will count on the junior on Saturday.
“(Willis) is the best libero in the league, for sure,” Riley said. “He’s an MVPcaliber player or defensive player of the year. It’s rare that a libero can influence the game the way he does.”
Valencia is well aware of how difficult it is to beat a team three times, on top of beating a league rival who knows all your secrets. West Ranch shares that feeling as no secret weapons could’ve possibly slipped through league play.
“There are zero secrets between these teams,” said Cats coach Brandon Johnson. “I could spend the next week watching film and I’m going to know the same exact thing that I know right now about Valencia. Our boys play club together and are friends with each other. There’s no secrets. There’s no surprises. So what does that mean? It means that we’ve got to come out and play hard. We got to come out and keep improving. Every ball, we gotta focus on the task at hand and we gotta go play hard.”
West Ranch is led by the 1,000-kill man, Noah Douphner. The junior struggled with just 14 kills and 10 hitting errors in round one with Valencia but came back with a bang in round two, totaling 22 kills and a pair of blocks.
“It’s almost a new West Ranch that Valencia is going to be facing,” Douphner said. “We know what they’re going to do and they know what we’re going to do. It’s going to be a dogfight and I’m hoping we can come out on top. I think we are a completely different team than who they faced during league play. They could be a much better team, too, because they’ve had so much time and experience together. But ultimately, I think we’ve improved the most. So I’m excited.”
With no secrets, both coaches know there won’t be many changes to their respective game plans and styles of play.
“I’m a big believer that you don’t change things up just because the moment’s bigger,” Riley said. “You go with what you’re good at and that’s what’s going to happen. But we’ll see what happens.”
Johnson has said time and time again that his team is at its best when other Wildcats are putting the ball away. West Ranch will need more timely hits from outside hitter Logan Sanchez, opposite hitter Ethan Paik and middle blocker Lucas Reuter. The middle blocker has also flashed his skills from the end and will be one of several Wildcats testing the Vikes’ serve receive.
Both teams were pushed hard in Foothill League, with both of them playing a combined 15 matches past straight sets. League battles like that have helped prepare the Wildcats and Vikings for moments that’ll come on Saturday.
“I’m so happy and proud of what Castaic has brought to our league,” Johnson said. “I’m so happy and proud of those boys and what they did to help grow the sport in this valley and made this league so competitive this year. Those matches prepared Valencia and us for where we are right now. When we come into these games, we have no pressure. We’ve been in these spots a million times and it’s because of our league. It’s because of what the teams in our league have been able to do to push us.”
Valencia could win a third time if the team continues to serve and pass as it has throughout the postseason. West Ranch will also need more strong serving on top of more key blocking, some strengths it’s shown this season.
It’s all on the line this weekend as West Ranch will fight for its first sectional title while Valencia aims for its fourth. The two will duke it out one more time on Saturday at 6 p.m. at College of the Canyons, in what’s sure to be the match of the season.
Johnson added: “The city of Santa Clarita has always had a good volleyball tradition and most of it begins and ends with Valencia. That being said, it’d be really nice to cement West Ranch’s volleyball legacy starting in 2024.”