It was a clash of the titans last Wednesday night as the final two undefeated girls volleyball teams in Class 3A faced off.
The Valley Catholic Valiants took on the Pleasant Hill Billies in a five-set match that saw the Billies win 3-2 (25-21, 26-24, 15-25, 20-25, 15-12).
Overall, middle hitter Ruby Jackson had 12 kills and 4 aces, outside hitter Cheyenne Green had 18 kills and 16 digs, setter Claire Crawford had 32 assists and 20 digs, and outside hitter Anna Crawford recorded 11 kills and 22 digs.
“It shows that we have some fight and some resiliency,” Billies coach Jessica Crawford said. “They worked really, really hard and Valley Catholic is a fantastic team. (It was a) super fun match! I’m just really proud they had the fight and they believed in themselves and came through for each other.”
The hard-fought victory featured a particularly close second set as the Billies found themselves down 18-9 at one point. The Billies rallied and went on a 17-6 run to finish the set, coming out on top 26-24.
“They just really believed in each other and kept checking back with each other to make sure they were ready to come back and battle,” Crawford said. “Kudos to them, they chipped away at it and came back and got the win. That’s how we won the match, honestly. That second set was key.”
Entering this match the Billies were undefeated, sweeping each of their opponents. When it came to their first true test of the year, two key players stepped up – sophomore Anna Crawford, and Green.
“Both of them are playing at a high level. They’re willing to take that risk and that big swing. That shows a lot of maturity and guts, to be honest,” Crawford said. “Chey has been having a really, really good year. Anna has also stepped up, filling an important role to keep us balanced. We have to have a balanced offense and she’s giving us that.”
As they transition into league play, improvement is still on the Billies’ minds. After squeaking out a win against a strong opponent, coach Crawford is looking to limit close games.
“We went to five sets, there’s always things to work on,” she said. “Of course, that said, for being where we are in the season it’s early. If a coach said there wasn’t something to work on, there’s an error going on there. So we’re just going to make sure we come back and try not to give up so many points in a row, so that we get down (to a place) where we have to dig out of. We have some work to do, but at the same time we’re in a good place.”
