VALENCIA – Valencia almost bounced back from the brink, but the girls’ volleyball team’s efforts fell short.
The Vikings hosted El Toro in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 5 playoffs on Saturday night, and after quickly falling two sets down, they came back to force a decisive fifth set before an El Toro ace ended matters at match point.
El Toro won with the score 25-22, 25-18, 23-25, 13-25, 16-14. Valencia even led 9-2 in the final set before El Toro scored eight straight points to take a 10-9 lead.
The Vikings were able to tie the game at 14, before two straight points from El Toro gave them a thrilling postseason victory.
But on the other side of a late comeback is the shock of the team coming off the losing end.
“I can’t give you my honest reaction other than I’m sad,” Valencia coach Kristin Dolan said after the loss. “I’m sad. We battled, we were there, we just couldn’t close.”
Despite this, she praised her team’s fighting ability as things looked bleak an hour into the match.
“I’m so proud of them. That game was a testament to the effort that we put in, the resiliency that we have. To be down 2-0 and then fight to get to the fifth and then get back up, you know, is a testament to our resiliency and tenacity and their effort all season,” said Dolan, who had her seventh shutout of the season.
El Toro started strong in the opening set, going on an 11-0 run to take a 14-3 lead in the first. A 7-0 run back by Valencia put them back in striking distance after a strong offensive stretch from junior outside hitter Molly Kocicka, but the Chargers were able to regain the momentum and close out the set 25-23.
El Toro followed that up by attacking Valencia’s backline and took the second set 25-18, and it looked like they would get a comfortable road win.
But Valencia found its rhythm in the third game, when a kill by junior Nyla Willstead gave them a slim 6-4 lead. From there, they extended their lead to 20-16 after junior Faith Hilton came up with a block and led 24-20 before winning the set 25-23.
The Vikings were dominant in the fourth set, going up 19-11, and they closed out the set with back-to-back aces to win it 25-13 and head to a deciding fifth.
From there, Valencia’s 9-2 advantage faded as El Toro took advantage of an opening in the middle of the court to claw back and take a 10-9 lead before their game-tying ace later.
Dolan complimented her seniors after the loss and also put the level of the game in perspective as a whole.
“They are part of the tenacity and resilience that we build. If it wasn’t for them and their hard work every day in practice, we wouldn’t have been in that situation to begin with. We wouldn’t have battled with that great team,” she said. “I bet that game is as close to a CIF final game as you’re going to get in Division 5, so I’m proud of them and they did great.”
