Boys’ volleyball: Positive demeanor a key to Valencia’s success
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Valencia is one of the most interesting teams I’ve ever seen play.
Throughout its Southern Section-Toyota Division II semifinal against Dos Pueblos on Wednesday, the Valencia players were laughing and smiling. Sure, I guess pretty much everything went the Vikings’ way in their 25-16, 25-15, 23-25, 25-19 victory over the Chargers, but I found it remarkable that the team kept such a grinning attitude.
Still, having some fun on the court is sort of the Vikings’ trademark. And they’re hoping their upbeat demeanor will play a role in lifting them to their fourth divisional title in six years with a victory over Santa Barbara at 5 p.m. Saturday at Cal State Dominguez Hills.
There were plenty of reasons to smile for the Vikings in the first two games. Jim Baughman and Jamey Ker spearheaded the offensive effort and Jon Griffith was running around like a volleyball madman. Griffith was the player of the match for Valencia, as far as I’m concerned, finishing with 10 digs, eight kills, six blocks and four aces.
The Chargers, however, didn’t let the ‘Mary Poppins’ pre-match mood music get to them. In the last two games, Ben Johnson, who was shadowed by Valencia’s twin towers of Jake Piva and Skyler Seymour throughout the match, began to spike through cracks in the Vikings’ defense. While it was enough to pull out a hard-fought win in the third game, it wasn’t enough to overcome Valencia’s positive firepower.
Johnson finished with seven kills and four blocks and teammate Will McCracken had eight kills and three aces. Jim Baughman nailed down a match-high 12 kills for Valencia and Ker and Piva finished with seven.
Until Valencia dropped that third game, it hadn’t lost a game since the Redondo tournament nearly a month ago (Valencia Coach Mark Knudsen didn’t know which match it was, though). Despite this, the Vikings have to be considered the favorite for the divisional title. Remember how things went the last time they played Santa Barbara?
Here’s what Knudsen had to say about the match and his team’s upbeat mood:
