SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – Saddleback Valley Christian’s boys volleyball team was expected to be good this year.
Just maybe not this good.
The Warriors, who have moved up to No. 6 in the Orange County top 10 after starting the season unranked, won their 10th straight match Wednesday night, beating No. 10 Santa Margarita, 25-17, 23-25, 25-18, 25-23, in a nonleague contest at SVC.
SVC’s last five wins have come against Capistrano Valley, Los Alamitos, No. 8 Dana Hills, No. 3 Beckman and Santa Margarita.
And that’s just been the last five days.
“It’s been a little bit brutal,” SVC coach Ryan Van Rensselaer said of his team’s schedule. “A lot of great results. The idea was not at the cost of killing them. They’re exhausted. Tonight it showed.”
Fortunately for the Warriors, the Eagles (3-4) might’ve been just as tired after dropping a five-set heartbreaker to Edison on Tuesday night.
SVC grabbed a quick 8-3 lead in the first off six Santa Margarita errors and eventually won, 25-17. The third set almost mirrored the first, with SVC winning, 25-18.
It was a different story in the second, when outside hitter and Pepperdine signee Noah Dyer missed most of the set with apparent discomfort in his lower abdomen. The Eagles took advantage and won the second, 25-23, with James Thomas picking up four kills on their last five points.
Dyer returned for the final two sets and rocked five of his 20 kills in the fourth and final set, which the Warriors won, 25-23.
SVC middle blockers Trevor O’Reily and Brandon Ketel also had huge nights, combining for 22 kills and nine blocks.
“I knew that (we) were a great team (heading into this season),” Van Rensselaer said. “They’ve got a lot of talent on the floor. … It’s no secret we’re a very Noah-centric team, we go to him a lot. And when we split up the offense and we spread the ball out, we do a lot better. So tonight was just about managing their minds.”
