Norse, Cougars, Matadors, Knights stack wins

2026 EAST COUNTY PREP GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

Valhalla sweeps Grossmont in a Grossmont Conference matchup, Steele Canyon wins twice, Mount Miguel and Foothills Christian complete unbeaten weeks

By Ramon Scott
EastCountySports.com

EL CAJON — Valhalla produced the most complete East County victory of the week, Steele Canyon continued its strong opening month and Mount Miguel and Foothills Christian assembled unbeaten runs as the local girls volleyball season moved toward September.

The Norsemen supplied the week’s best combination of local significance and complete reporting, defeating Grossmont in straight sets in a Grossmont Conference matchup Wednesday. The contest did not count in the Grossmont Valley or Grossmont Hills league standings, which begin later in September, but it provided an early comparison between two conference programs.

Steele Canyon won consecutive matches behind another productive week from junior Taylor Carpenter, while Mount Miguel won three times in three days and Foothills Christian swept a pair of opponents.

Helix also returned from Las Vegas with four victories in six tournament matches.

Valhalla controls conference matchup

Valhalla defeated Grossmont 25-18, 25-18, 25-16, using a balanced attack, strong serving and extensive defensive production to complete the sweep.

The Norsemen finished with 26 kills, a .250 hitting percentage, 15 aces, 78 digs and 26 assists.

Senior Jordann Bollens led Valhalla with nine kills, a .444 hitting percentage, four aces and 24 digs. Junior Audrey Reece added seven aces and 10 digs, while senior Finley Ryan had five kills, hit .444 and contributed two blocks.

Freshman Valerie Toma supplied five kills and 21 digs. Senior setter Trianne Nguyentu distributed all 26 of Valhalla’s assists.

Grossmont junior Imani Hayes kept attacking through the three sets, recording 16 kills with a .286 hitting percentage, three aces and 10 digs. Senior Jacqueline Villalobos had 13 assists, while senior Ciarrah Doliente added 10 digs.

Hayes finished with 31 kills across Grossmont’s two matches during the week. She had 15 kills and hit .219 in Tuesday’s 25-12, 26-24, 25-20 loss to Clairemont.

The Foothillers produced 28 kills, 43 digs, 25 assists and seven aces against Clairemont before returning the following night to face Valhalla.

Carpenter powers Steele Canyon through five-set test

Steele Canyon survived a five-set match at Mira Mesa on Wednesday and returned home Thursday to sweep High Tech San Diego.

The Cougars won the opening two sets against Mira Mesa, dropped the next two and recovered to take the deciding set in a 25-19, 25-21, 23-25, 17-25, 15-10 victory.

Carpenter carried the attack with 23 kills on 56 attempts, committing only five errors for a .321 hitting percentage. Junior Kate Ryan added seven kills with a .429 percentage.

Steele Canyon recorded 44 kills, 16 aces and 24 total blocks in the five-set victory. Senior Tiana Baker and junior Izzy Trotto were each credited with six blocks, while Ryan contributed five.

Sophomore Roxy Carrillo had 15 digs, and the setting combination of sophomore Natalia Santana and sophomore Leah Heinen combined for 40 of the Cougars’ 43 assists.

One night later, Steele Canyon swept High Tech SD 25-17, 25-13, 25-12.

Carpenter added 10 kills and four aces, giving her 33 kills over the two victories. Junior Crisa Garcia had six kills, seven aces and four digs in the sweep, while Baker put down six kills on eight attempts without an error for a .750 hitting percentage.

Trotto was equally efficient with four kills on five swings and no errors. Santana recorded 16 assists, and Heinen added nine.

Steele Canyon totaled 33 kills, 16 aces and a .267 hitting percentage against High Tech SD. The Cougars finished the two-match stretch with 77 kills and 32 aces across eight sets.

Mount Miguel wins three matches in three days

Mount Miguel opened the week with three consecutive victories, defeating Gompers Prep Academy, Crawford and Kearny.

The Matadors swept Gompers Prep on Monday, although complete set scores were not reported. They returned Tuesday and dominated Crawford 25-8, 25-9, 25-13.

Mount Miguel completed its run Wednesday with a four-set road victory against Kearny. The Matadors won the first two sets 25-16, narrowly missed a sweep in a 29-27 third set and closed emphatically with a 25-13 fourth.

The 25-16, 25-16, 27-29, 25-13 victory gave Mount Miguel nine winning sets in 10 played over three consecutive days.

The results moved the Matadors from four consecutive losses to a three-match winning streak.

Foothills Christian sweeps consecutive opponents

Foothills Christian did not drop a set in victories over Rock Academy and Clairemont.

The Knights opened the week’s action Tuesday with a Pacific League sweep at Rock Academy, winning 25-16, 25-12, 25-9.

Foothills Christian followed Thursday with a 25-17, 25-23, 25-21 road victory over Clairemont. The Captains tested the Knights in the final two sets, but Foothills Christian finished each one to complete its second sweep in as many nights.

The Knights won all six sets and outscored the two opponents 150-98. Individual statistics were not reported.

Helix posts four tournament victories in Las Vegas

Helix rebounded from a midweek loss to Poway by going 4-2 during its two-day tournament trip to Las Vegas.

Poway swept the Scotties 25-19, 25-16, 25-17 on Wednesday.

Helix then lost its tournament opener to Flagstaff in two sets Friday before recovering from a difficult opening set against Green Valley. After losing the first set 25-10, the Scotties fought off the Gators 26-24 and won the deciding set 15-12.

Helix also defeated Pahrump Valley in three sets Friday.

The Scotties returned Saturday to sweep Enterprise of Utah 26-24, 25-20 and added another two-set victory over Jordan of Utah. Poway ended Helix’s tournament with a three-set victory, its second win over the Scotties during the week.

Helix finished the tournament with four wins in six matches and ended the week 6-3 overall.

Christian rebounds against Granite Hills

Christian recovered from Tuesday’s four-set loss to Eastlake by defeating Granite Hills in four sets Thursday.

Eastlake won the earlier match 3-1, with set scores unavailable. The Patriots then went on the road and defeated the Eagles 3-1. Set scores and Christian statistics were not reported.

Granite Hills supplied its statistics from the loss. Junior Miranda Haisch led the Eagles with seven kills and a .316 hitting percentage. Senior Mackenna Palmer recorded 22 digs, junior Skylar Rice distributed 16 assists and junior Ryea Leaverton contributed three blocks.

Granite Hills finished with 24 kills, seven aces, seven blocks and 67 digs. Christian’s victory gave the Patriots a split of their two matches during the week.

West Hills answers five-set loss with sweep

West Hills experienced both sides of a close finish during its two-match week.

The Wolf Pack rallied from a disastrous third set against Holtville on Tuesday but could not complete the comeback. Holtville prevailed 25-15, 15-25, 7-25, 25-22, 15-8.

West Hills actually outscored Holtville 95-87 across the five sets but lost the fourth and fifth after taking a 2-1 advantage.

The Wolf Pack responded Thursday by sweeping Morse 25-11, 25-13, 27-25. West Hills dominated the opening two sets and completed the sweep after Morse pushed the third set beyond 25 points.

Morse reported 17 kills, eight aces and 41 digs in the loss. Senior Jhennalyn Gutierrez led the Tigers with six kills, while senior Hailee Divina had four kills, a .667 hitting percentage and one block.

West Hills ended the week 8-3 overall.

Santana earns convincing home sweep

Santana split two matches, losing to Patrick Henry before sweeping High Tech Mesa.

Patrick Henry defeated the Sultans 25-17, 25-19, 25-18 Wednesday. The Patriots recorded 35 kills, 12 aces and seven blocks, led by Mariana Carvajal’s 11 kills.

Santana responded Thursday with a decisive 25-11, 25-13, 25-14 home sweep of High Tech Mesa.

The Sultans allowed only 38 points across the three sets and improved to 3-2 overall.

Mountain Empire splits road, home matches

Mountain Empire took the opening set against Ramona on Tuesday before the Bulldogs rallied for a four-set victory.

The Redhawks won the first set 26-24 before Ramona took the next three 25-18, 25-20, 25-20.

Senior Bibi Caceres led Mountain Empire with nine kills, while senior Josalin Shawcroft had five kills and 17 digs. Junior Rowan Smith recorded 19 digs, freshman Kalia Jones added 12 and junior Breeza Valdez supplied 16 assists.

Mountain Empire finished the loss with 28 kills, 67 digs and 26 assists.

The Redhawks returned home Thursday and swept Vincent Memorial 3-0.

El Capitan competes in four-set loss

El Capitan won the opening set and pushed Eastlake to 29 points in the fourth before falling 25-27, 25-22, 25-20, 29-27 Thursday.

Senior Josephine Conyers and sophomore Teegan Hinrichsen each recorded 11 kills for the Vaqueros. Senior Rylee Declercq added seven kills and three total blocks, while sophomore Chloe Lunk had four kills on seven attempts without an error.

Senior setter Olivia Bania finished with 36 assists, and El Capitan accumulated 37 kills, nine aces, 61 digs and a .224 hitting percentage.

Sophomore Harper Liedecke led the defense with 13 digs, while junior Abby Thoren had 11.

Monte Vista records first victory

Monte Vista earned its first victory of the season Wednesday with a 3-0 sweep of Gompers Prep Academy.

Set scores and individual statistics were not reported, but the victory ended a four-match opening skid that included tournament losses to Granite Hills, Brawley, O’Farrell Charter and West Hills.

Liberty Charter, El Cajon Valley fall in sweeps

Liberty Charter dropped a 25-12, 25-11, 25-14 decision at Coastal Academy on Wednesday. Individual statistics were not reported.

The Lions finished the week 2-2 overall after earlier victories against Kearny and El Cajon Valley.

El Cajon Valley lost to San Ysidro 25-10, 25-20, 25-10 Wednesday.

Senior Olive Melendez had four kills on eight attempts, a .500 hitting percentage and two blocks for the Braves. Senior Aleanor Marcus added four kills, while El Cajon Valley finished with 13 kills, eight aces and five total blocks.

Scores

Saturday, Aug. 29
Helix def. Enterprise (Utah), 2-0 (26-24, 25-20)
Helix def. Jordan (Utah), 2-0
Poway def. Helix, 2-1

Friday, Aug. 28
Flagstaff (Ariz.) def. Helix, 2-0
Helix def. Green Valley (Nev.), 2-1 (10-25, 26-24, 15-12)
Helix def. Pahrump Valley (Nev.), 2-1
St. Pius X-St. Matthias def. Holtville, 3-0

Thursday, Aug. 27
Mountain Empire def. Vincent Memorial, 3-0
Steele Canyon def. High Tech SD, 3-0 (25-17, 25-13, 25-12)
Christian def. Granite Hills, 3-1
West Hills def. Morse, 3-0 (25-11, 25-13, 27-25)
Foothills Christian def. Clairemont, 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-21)
Santana def. High Tech Mesa, 3-0 (25-11, 25-13, 25-14)
Eastlake def. El Capitan, 3-1 (25-27, 25-22, 25-20, 29-27)
Canyon Hills def. Rock Academy, 3-0
Escondido Charter def. Ramona, 3-1
Yuma Catholic def. Brawley, 3-0
Central def. Palo Verde Valley, 3-0

Wednesday, Aug. 26
Monte Vista def. Gompers Prep Academy, 3-0
Coastal Academy def. Liberty Charter, 3-0 (25-12, 25-11, 25-14)
Poway def. Helix, 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-17)
Foothills Christian def. Rock Academy, 3-0 (25-16, 25-12, 25-9)
San Ysidro def. El Cajon Valley, 3-0 (25-10, 25-20, 25-10)
Mount Miguel def. Kearny, 3-1 (25-16, 25-16, 27-29, 25-13)
Valhalla def. Grossmont, 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-16)
Patrick Henry def. Santana, 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-18)
Steele Canyon def. Mira Mesa, 3-2 (25-19, 25-21, 23-25, 17-25, 15-10)
Calipatria def. Borrego Springs, 3-0
West Shores def. Desert Mirage, 3-0

Tuesday, Aug. 25
Holtville def. West Hills, 3-2 (25-15, 15-25, 7-25, 25-22, 15-8)
Ramona def. Mountain Empire, 3-1 (24-26, 25-18, 25-20, 25-20)
Mount Miguel def. Crawford, 3-0 (25-8, 25-9, 25-13)
Eastlake def. Christian, 3-1
Clairemont def. Grossmont, 3-0 (25-12, 26-24, 25-20)
O’Farrell Charter def. Morse, 3-1
St. Joseph Academy def. Del Lago Academy, 3-0
Palo Verde Valley def. Borrego Springs, 3-0
Desert Mirage def. Calexico Mission, 3-0
Southwest El Centro def. Calexico, 3-0
Imperial def. Calipatria, 3-0

Monday, Aug. 24
Mount Miguel def. Gompers Prep Academy, 3-0
Mt. Carmel def. El Capitan, 3-0 (25-17, 25-10, 25-22)
Southwest San Diego def. El Cajon Valley, 3-0 (25-11, 25-14, 25-17)
San Ysidro def. Liberty Charter, 3-0
Santa Fe Christian def. Santana, score not reported

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