VALENCIA READY FOR BIG TENNIS TEST.

Byline: Erik Boal Special to the Daily News

It's a matchup of Valencia's strength in doubles versus Campbell Hall of North Hollywood's dominance in singles.

It's Valencia's senior-laden lineup against Campbell Hall's talented underclassmen.

And it's Campbell Hall, the two-time defending Southern Section Div. III champion, trying to reach another final, while Valencia - making its third consecutive semifinal appearance - is aiming for its first appearance in the title match.

Since the beginning of the season, the teams - both with Vikings as their nickname - anticipated a matchup at some point in November. They just didn't know if it would be in the semifinals or the final.

After cruising through their first three matches, third-seeded Campbell Hall (14-4) and second-seeded Valencia (20-2) will finally meet today in a 2 p.m. match at Valencia High. It will be the second time in three seasons the teams have met in the semifinals, with Campbell Hall winning 15-3 in 2003 on its way to its first division title.

``If we're going to do it, this is our year to finally push through and get past this round,'' said Valencia coach Annie Kellogg, whose team lost 12-6 at Brentwood in last year's semifinals. ``We won the coin flip, so it's great for them to be able to play at home. It's an awesome opportunity.

``They want it badly. They've had a taste of it in the past, so they definitely want to take that next step.''

Valencia defeated host Great Oak of Temecula 13-5 in Tuesday's quarterfinals, relying on seven victories in doubles and another sweep from senior Cassie Strange. Campbell Hall eliminated Long Beach Wilson with a 10-8 triumph, led by a combined nine wins in singles from Katarina Reveche, Michelle Sulahian and Alison Wagner.

Reveche, Sulahian and Wagner have won all 27 of their sets in the playoffs. Valencia's doubles teams have won 25 of 27. Kristin Anderson and Monique Palmera, along with Carissa Eisler and Alessandra Horii, suffered their first losses of the postseason Tuesday, both by 6-4 scores.

Valencia's doubles lineup has been bolstered by the addition of Alexa Strange, who teamed with Lehren MacKay to sweep three sets against Great Oak. Strange had been sidelined for the majority of Foothill League play with an ankle injury.

``Alexa has a big serve and a big return, and Lehren just runs around and tracks all the balls down,'' Kellogg said. ``And when Alexa's up at the net, she provides a presence.''

The pivotal matchups will be Cassie Strange against Wagner in singles, and all three of Valencia's doubles teams against Campbell Hall's No. 1 tandem of Julia Bruckner and Hannah Moss.

The division championship match is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday at the Claremont Club against the winner of top-seeded Brentwood and unseeded Viewpoint of Calabasas.

Erik Boal, [phone]

erik.boal(at)dailynews.com