Santa Clarita High School Volleyball

The 2015 CIF-SS volleyball playoffs start today across Southern California, and the Santa Clarita Valley is well represented in this year’s edition.

Four Foothill League schools are competing in the first round of the Division 1A playoffs as well as the two Santa Clarita Heritage League representatives vying for the Division 5AA crown.

Valencia, the seeded team from the Foothill League, will open the tournament against At-Large bid Calabasas at home today. The Vikings stormed through their league schedule, dropping only three games; they should advance to the second round with relative ease.

On the other side of the bracket sits the Hart Indians, awarded a first round home match against Newbury Park. Both Hart and Newbury Park played a common opponent this year, with the Indians beating Westlake, 3-2, and Newbury Park getting swept in their season series with Westlake.

Expect the Indians to come out strong at home where they have been excellent throughout the season.

Three straight wins to close out the regular season schedule got the West Ranch Wildcats into the dance, and they will hit the road this evening for a match with Thousand Oaks, whom lost to Valencia earlier in the year. This will be a strongly contested match that could go the distance.

A surprise addition to the playoff field this year are the Saugus Centurions. With a 9-19 overall record, Saugus was granted an At-Large bid and undoubtedly have the toughest road to the Final, opening away to seeded Westlake. It will be a tall task for the Centurions.

CIF-SS Division 5AA No. 1 overall seed Santa Clarita Christian will enjoy the night off with a first-round bye, and will take on the winner of Cuyama Valley and Hamilton at home on Thursday.

Although the Cardinals are not playing tonight, SCCS will still play host to a first-round playoff game tonight.

Trinity Classical Academy will borrow their rival’s gym tonight for their (home) match with Valley Christian Academy. The Knights are on the opposite side of the bracket and with a win over VCA will head to Glendale Adventist for the second round on Thursday.

Santa Clarita High School Tennis

The Valencia Vikings girls’ tennis team is on a quest for back-to-back CIF-SS Division II titles, and kept hope alive with a dramatic 12-6 victory over Troy in the Quarter-Final round, Monday.

There were three tiebreaker’s in the match, including a hard-fought 7-3 tiebreaker in single’s between Valencia’s Amanda Tabanera and Troy’s Kaylee Kang, two players that have faced off against each other outside of school matches.

Tabanera emerged the winner, and the Vikings head to the Semi-Final round for a date with Murrieta Valley, a rematch of the 2014 Final. The match will be held Wednesday at 2:00PM.