VOLLEYBALL NOTEBOOK: LEAGUE TITLES ARE ALL BUT SECURED.

Byline: Rich Hammond  Staff Writer

Just one week remains in the regular season for the Foothill and Golden Leagues, and for once much of the drama seems to have been drained from the valleys.

Barring a stumble next week against Hart or Canyon, Saugus will give the Foothill League its third champion in as many years, and on Thursday, Highland will try to earn a share of the Golden League title with a home match against Quartz Hill.

Littlerock likely will earn a wild-card spot out of the Golden League, and Hart and a surprising Burbank team both would seem to be in playoff contention.

--Once more: Highland plays host to Quartz Hill on Thursday at 5:30 p.m., and the Rebels seemed primed to dethrone the longtime Antelope Valley power as they did two weeks ago in a four-game victory.

``We wanted it so bad,'' setter Randi Cooper said after the first Quartz Hill victory. ``I'm just glad we proved everybody wrong. They've been winning for five consecutive years, but this is our year.''

In the first meeting, Highland played without starting middle blocker Deseray Pisotchi, a big loss since Quartz Hill's best hitter is its own middle, 6-foot-2 Kristen Voyson.

Pisotchi, who has a sprained ankle, was injured during a nightmare Monday practice for the Bulldogs, because 10 minutes later, starting outside hitter Lizelle Jackson also went down with a sprained ankle.

``When Deseray went down, we were just in shock,'' coach Emmir Surur said. ``Then when Lizelle got hurt, it was like, 'OK, what's going on here.' Lizelle was able to play but not as well as she usually does.''

Because of those injuries, Surur didn't come away from the match feeling awful about his team's chances in the rematch.

Highland dominated in a 15-4 first-game victory and then nearly rallied from a 12-3 deficit in the third game but lost 18-16.

``We were really into the game at first and we kicked the crap out of them,'' Surur said. ``Then they came right back and kicked the crap out of us.

``After the game the girls were really disappointed, but I think they left the gym thinking that we will be able to get them next time.''

--Nothing to chance: With a victory tonight against Milken Community, Santa Clarita Christian would all but wrap up the Westside League title. A loss and the Cardinals are looking at a possible tie, and that's the last thing they want.

Last year, SCC and Hillcrest Christian of Thousand Oaks tied in victories, total games won and total points won, a remarkable coincidence. SCC then lost the first-place playoff seeding on a coin flip.

``We definitely want to take care of business this time,'' coach Darcy Brown said.

SCC took a big step this week, as the Cardinals thumped Hillcrest Christian and then beat Lighthouse Christian, previously undefeated and ranked No. 2 in Division V-A.

``We have a very scrappy team and we don't give up easily,'' Brown said. ``There were a couple times in that fifth game where it could have gone either way, but emotion played a big part in it and we showed a lot of heart.''

Santa Clarita Christian moved up to Division V-AA this season and is ranked sixth. The Cardinals are led by setter Ashli McCaslin, who had 54 assists against Hillcrest Christian, and hitter Stacey Leonard, who had 14 kills and 15 digs in that victory.

But Brown points to middle blocker Jenna Mardesich, a 6-foot-1 junior, as her most improved player.

``She has really clicked, especially in the last month,'' Brown said. ``She has a lot more confidence in herself and she's a tremendous asset to the team.''