Thursday, October 5, 2017
Fifteen days ago Santa Rosa Academy visited Rancho Christian and came back with early control of the South Valley League race. Two weeks later in Menifee Rancho Christian returned the favor and prevailed 3-1 by scores of 22-25, 25-18, 36-34, 25-15 to create a first place tie atop the South Valley League with four matches to go.
In set 1 Santa Rosa Academy got off to a 13-6 start behind 3 aces at the service line. Rancho Christian fought back to make it a competitve set falling by a margin of 25-22. Any kind of momentum from both sides was generated behind the service lines in sets 1 and 2. In set 2 Emma Baker got the Eagles off to a 7-2 start which was quickly erased as the Rangers fought back to grab a 9-8 lead. From that point it was all Eagles as the Ranger offense was slowed by really effective serving by Rancho Christian.
Set 3 was where the momentum turned and you could really tell that both sides knew what was on the line. It went to 36-34 with Rancho Christian prevailing. Eagles coach Rochelle Short said that her side really needed to be better in tip coverage and that is something which would be addressed in Friday's practice. She also mentioned how important it was for her side after winning that set to seize the momentum early in set 4. This was something her Eagles did quite well as the Rangers never really found momentum and fell 25-15 losing the match 3-1.
Santa Rosa Academy coach Steve Jones said the 36-34 3rd set showed just how much parity existed between the sides. He also said that at this point of the season it's a matter of serve and pass to be able to move forward. My interview with him will be available on the Inland_Sports YouTube channel.
I had the opportunity to speak with Amirah Ali and Emily Vaniman after this contest.
By: Derryl Trujillo
Inland Sports Volleyball Correspondent
Fifteen days ago Santa Rosa Academy visited Rancho Christian and came back with early control of the South Valley League race. Two weeks later in Menifee Rancho Christian returned the favor and prevailed 3-1 by scores of 22-25, 25-18, 36-34, 25-15 to create a first place tie atop the South Valley League with four matches to go.
In set 1 Santa Rosa Academy got off to a 13-6 start behind 3 aces at the service line. Rancho Christian fought back to make it a competitve set falling by a margin of 25-22. Any kind of momentum from both sides was generated behind the service lines in sets 1 and 2. In set 2 Emma Baker got the Eagles off to a 7-2 start which was quickly erased as the Rangers fought back to grab a 9-8 lead. From that point it was all Eagles as the Ranger offense was slowed by really effective serving by Rancho Christian.
Set 3 was where the momentum turned and you could really tell that both sides knew what was on the line. It went to 36-34 with Rancho Christian prevailing. Eagles coach Rochelle Short said that her side really needed to be better in tip coverage and that is something which would be addressed in Friday's practice. She also mentioned how important it was for her side after winning that set to seize the momentum early in set 4. This was something her Eagles did quite well as the Rangers never really found momentum and fell 25-15 losing the match 3-1.
Santa Rosa Academy coach Steve Jones said the 36-34 3rd set showed just how much parity existed between the sides. He also said that at this point of the season it's a matter of serve and pass to be able to move forward. My interview with him will be available on the Inland_Sports YouTube channel.
I had the opportunity to speak with Amirah Ali and Emily Vaniman after this contest.
Vaniman mentioned playing little mini games to 5 helped the Eagles stay focused mentally in a hostile enviornment and that they did a better job this time of keying on the next point to build that momentum. Amirah Ali is just a freshman but she had key kills in key moments. When I asked her about being on the court in those moments she said that there's still a lot of adrenaline but those situations make the game fun.
Emily Vaniman led Rancho Christian with 19 kills (4 errors) on 34 attempts to hit .441% on the evening. Emma Baker recorded 17 kills on 50 swings but struggled with 8 errors for a .180% hitting percentage and added 23 digs with 1 lone ace. As a side the Eagles hit .205% for this match. In defeat Santa Rosa Academy got 18 kills on 50 swings from Taylor Sisk with 10 errors and she hit .160% As a team the Rangers hit .092%
I mentioned service runs and pressure earlier in this article as a key to victory for Rancho Christian. If you pour over the MaxPreps data Rancho Christian and Santa Rosa each recorded 14 aces with Baker recording 5 aces and Taylor Sisk recording 4 on her own. Best wishes to both sides moving forward.
Emily Vaniman led Rancho Christian with 19 kills (4 errors) on 34 attempts to hit .441% on the evening. Emma Baker recorded 17 kills on 50 swings but struggled with 8 errors for a .180% hitting percentage and added 23 digs with 1 lone ace. As a side the Eagles hit .205% for this match. In defeat Santa Rosa Academy got 18 kills on 50 swings from Taylor Sisk with 10 errors and she hit .160% As a team the Rangers hit .092%
I mentioned service runs and pressure earlier in this article as a key to victory for Rancho Christian. If you pour over the MaxPreps data Rancho Christian and Santa Rosa each recorded 14 aces with Baker recording 5 aces and Taylor Sisk recording 4 on her own. Best wishes to both sides moving forward.
Comments
Post a Comment