Handwriting on Wall for Canyon : Volleyball: Millar gets riled by banner and leads Highland to 16-14, 15-5, 12-15, 15-8 victory.

One of the countless homemade banners inside the Canyon High gym boldly predicted a poor showing from Highland All-American Ryan Millar with four painted words: “It’s Not Millar Time.”

Oh, but it was.

Millar had 32 kills and 10 blocks, leading Highland to a 16-14, 15-5, 12-15, 15-8 Golden League victory over Canyon Wednesday night.

Millar also left with a souvenir tucked under his arm.

“As soon as I saw that sign I became so (angry), I knew we were going to win,” said Millar, who patted his newly acquired inspirational device.

“(The sign is) going up in my bedroom now.”

Millar, who will play for BYU next year, could soon add a Golden League championship or even a Southern Section Division II championship to his personal collection.

The Bulldogs (13-0 overall and in league play) are the top-ranked Southern Section Division II team.

The frightening part: The Bulldogs can improve.

“I wish we’d given Ryan more sets,” Highland Coach Mike Bird said.

“If we get it to him more consistently, I can’t imagine many high-schoolers stopping him.”

The 6-foot-8 middle blocker stopped Canyon (13-3, 11-3) in the first two games with 18 kills and five blocks.

But the third game belonged to the Cowboys, who trailed, 6-0, before cranking up their intensity level.

They had 11 aces in the match, including two timely ones late in the third game as the absence of Iain Bagnall, who was attending a funeral in London, caught up with Highland.

Without Bagnall, the Bulldogs’ best passer off serves, chaos made a cameo on the Highland side.

Canyon went on an 11-3 run on its way to a victory in the third game.

“When we serve them tough, we can get them a little bit,” said Canyon Coach Rick Phillips, who received a solid effort from Kevin Fleck (14 kills) and Ryan Ferguson (nine kills, six blocks).

But the Cowboys couldn’t get to Highland in the fourth game.

It was too much Millar (six kills in the game), too much Sean Crosier (12 total kills) and too much sophomore Tom Haight (10 kills, seven blocks overall), who was brought up from the junior varsity a month ago.

“When we get our adrenaline pumping, we’re a whole different team,” Haight said.

Crosier made some big-time plays late in the final game, throwing down a few thunderous kills of his own.

“That was the hardest I’d ever seen Sean hit,” said Millar, something of an expert on the subject.

With a victory over Littlerock on Friday night, Highland would clinch at least a tie for the Golden League title, but the Bulldogs expect more as they move toward the top seeding in the Division II playoffs.

“We want to go undefeated,” Bird said.

That would truly make it a banner year.