NORWALK – A mighty challenge was deftly overcome by Saddleback Valley Christian in Saturday evening’s CIF-Southern Section Division 4AA girls volleyball championship.
Tristan Self and Baylee Christian, Hemet’s formidable setter-hitter duo, trampled the Warriors early. SVC responded by trampling back in a whirlwind 19-25, 26-24, 25-9, 25-9 victory at Cerritos College that stunned the Bulldogs, the division’s No. 1 seed.
No. 2 SVC has just one senior on its roster and lacks consistent surefire players like Self and Christian. Yet the Warriors’ poise and balance seemed to overwhelm Hemet, which was ahead 18-12 before dropping the second game.
“I don’t think (the Bulldogs) realized we were capable of doing what we did,” said Sydnee Martin, who was a sparkplug for SVC throughout the match. “We’re a much, much better team than the way we started out. But I was a little shocked, too, that we turned the match around so fast.”
Heidi Dyer was the top all-around contributor for the Warriors (30-4) with 14 kills, 20 assists, 10 digs and three aces. Jaelyn Greene, who opened the match quickly with three kills before going quiet while SVC slumped, finished strong to end up with a team-high 16 kills.
Christian, a 6-foot-2 outside senior, gave Hemet (22-2) six kills in the last two games but was nowhere near the force she was while rolling for 13 kills in the first two games.
“Our defense has been our main strength all season,” Martin said.
The Warriors trailed, 24-23, in the second game before they stole it with three straight points that included a Dyer ace and a kill from Martin. Perhaps the biggest play during game point was a difficult dig made by Kaitlin O’Brien, who finished with a match-high 24.
