BALANCE BENEFITS VALENCIA VIKINGS USE REDONDO TOURNAMENT TO PREPARE FOR PLAYOFFS.Byline: Erik Boal Special to the Daily News Playing its sixth match in less than 24 hours, Valencia High's girls volleyball team was about to be swept by Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. , and coach Ray Sanchez was looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. anything or anyone to shift the momentum in the Vikings' favor. Senior right-side hitter Nicole Piva stepped up, carrying Valencia (23-3) to victories in the second and third games of Saturday's Redondo tournament fifth-place semifinal, a 23-25, 25-21, 15-11 triumph at Redondo Union of Redondo Beach Redondo Beach (rĭdŏn`dō), city (1990 pop. 60,167), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1892. Once a commercial port for Los Angeles, it is a residential and resort city with a protected harbor and an excellent marina. High. ``Nicole hadn't really been able to get going in our first two matches (Saturday), but in those last two games, she really stepped up and started carrying us,'' Sanchez said. ``Her and Danielle Maricle really began delivering at critical points of the match, and when they both got going, everything just seemed to click. ``With our team, it's take your pick. You cant afford to key on one person, and we're going to need that type of balance in the (Southern Section Div. I-AA) playoffs to be successful.'' No one benefited more than UC Irvine-bound setter setter: see sporting dog. setter Any of three breeds derived from a medieval hunting dog that would set (lie down) when it found birds so that it and the birds could be covered with a net. Setters have long hair on the ears, chest, legs, and tail. Taryn Robertson, who dished dished adj. 1. Concave. 2. Slanting toward one another at the bottom. Used of a pair of wheels. Adj. 1. dished - shaped like a dish or pan dish-shaped, patelliform concave - curving inward out 124 assists in 13 games over two days of competition. ``The great thing about this team is that there's not one go-to player,'' said Robertson, an all-tournament selection. ``It's nice to be able to have all the positions covered.'' --Playoff mind-set: Sanchez said he was proud of how his team responded against Santa Barbara, especially after a 25-22, 25-20 quarterfinal quar·ter·fi·nal adj. Of or relating to one of four competitions in a tournament, whose winners go on to play in semifinal competitions. n. 1. quarterfinals A quarterfinal round. 2. A quarterfinal match. setback to El Dorado El Dorado, legendary country of South America El Dorado (ĕl`dərä`dō, –rā`–) [Span.,=the gilded man], legendary country of the Golden Man sought by adventurers in South America. of Placentia, which denied the Vikings a showdown with top-seeded Francis Parker Francis Parker commonly refers to Colonel Francis Wayland Parker (1837-1902), a champion of progressive education in the United States. Francis Parker also refers to three schools named after Parker's dedication to progressive education:
``We didn't even know we had to come back and play Santa Barbara,'' said Sanchez, whose team won its pool Friday and defeated Millikan of Long Beach in the first round Saturday. ``We thought after we lost to El Dorado, that was it. But they're competitors, and even though they were upset, they knew they had to go out and compete. That was great to see them come out and battle back after such a disappointing loss.'' Sanchez hopes Valencia, which wrapped up its fourth consecutive Foothill League title Tuesday, can carry that resolve into the postseason. The Vikings are looking to advance further than last year, when they lost to Lakewood in the quarterfinals. ``They've been waiting for this opportunity since last year,'' Sanchez said. ``The Lakewood loss really stung stung v. Past tense and past participle of sting. stung Verb the past of sting Adj. 1. , and they know this is their chance to make up for it.'' Robertson said the experience of playing against El Dorado and Santa Barbara should serve Valencia well in the playoffs. ``It's so good for us to come out to these top tournaments,'' she said. ``Just getting out there and playing with these high-level teams shows us where we need to improve. We still have a lot of work to do, but I think well get there.'' --Serving up a title: Valencia had 17 aces in Tuesday's four-game title-clinching victory over Canyon. The Vikings' service was critical after they lost the first game 25-21. They had seven service errors in that game, but only six the rest of the way. Asha Kakanda sparked the turnaround with four consecutive aces in the second game. --Not so different: Burbank's final season in the Foothill League was similar to recent seasons: The Bulldogs finished near the bottom of the standings. Burbank, which dropped to 2-7 in league play with Tuesday's sweep by Hart, had been considered an early threat after starting the season 6-0. Staff Writer Heather Gripp contributed to this report. Erik Boal, (818) 713-3607 erik.boal(at)dailynews.com |
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