Helix, Foothills, Valhalla lead week

2026 EAST COUNTY PREP VOLLEYBALL

Scotties sweep two Grossmont Hills contenders; Granite Hills survives five-set test; Santana and Monte Vista produce bounce-back victories

ECS staff report

The Helix Highlanders seized control of the Grossmont Hills League race with victories over two of their strongest challengers, while Foothills Christian and Valhalla remained perfect in their respective leagues during a busy East County girls volleyball week from Sept. 28-Oct. 3.

Helix defeated Steele Canyon and Santana in four sets, Foothills Christian dispatched two Pacific League opponents and Valhalla improved to 3-0 in the Grossmont Valley League.

Elsewhere, Granite Hills survived a five-set battle against El Capitan, Santana rebounded by beating Christian in five sets and Monte Vista recorded two victories at its weekend tournament.

HELIX TAKES CONTROL

The county’s 18th-ranked Scotties strengthened their hold on first place in the Grossmont Hills League by defeating No. 21 Steele Canyon and No. 30 Santana.

Helix opened the week by rallying past Steele Canyon, 22-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-15, on Sept. 28.

The Scotties and Cougars finished with 38 kills apiece, but Helix created separation with 17 aces and 62 digs.

Aliyah Bowser led Helix with 18 kills and hit .293. Steele Canyon’s Taylor Carpenter countered with 19 kills and a .306 hitting percentage.

Two nights later, Helix again recovered from an opening-set loss, overpowering Santana, 17-25, 25-9, 25-20, 25-15.

Jolene Swiggers delivered one of the week’s top performances with 21 kills, a .405 hitting percentage, eight aces and 14 digs.

Bowser added 19 kills and 14 digs, giving the Scotties a pair of attackers with a combined 40 kills. Bella Green directed the offense with 42 assists, while Rylee Danielson collected 13 digs.

Shay Hammett converted both of her attacks and contributed two blocks. Emma Becker had six kills without committing a service error, and Savannah Moore added five kills and seven digs.

Helix finished the week 16-5 overall and 4-0 in league play. The Scotties won six consecutive sets after dropping the opener in each of their two matches.

Steele Canyon played only once during the review period. Its originally scheduled Sept. 30 match against El Capitan was moved to Oct. 9.

KNIGHTS WIN PACIFIC SHOWDOWN

No. 26 Foothills Christian swept Del Lago Academy on Sept. 29 before earning an important four-set road victory over Tri-City Christian, the Knights’ most serious early challenger in the Pacific League.

Foothills Christian won at Tri-City, 25-20, 25-18, 19-25, 25-21, to improve to 22-6 overall and remain unbeaten in league play.

Skye Molchonoff powered the Knights with 17 kills, four aces and three blocks. Grace Hallahan finished with 15 kills, three aces and two blocks, giving the Knights 32 kills from the duo.

Olivia Morr distributed 39 assists and served three aces. Noelle Morr contributed six kills, while Lealanie Waters added five kills and two blocks.

At the net, Hailey Laughter led Foothills Christian with four total blocks. The Knights finished with 43 kills, eight blocks and 13 aces against a Tri-City team that produced 44 kills and hit .313.

Foothills Christian won the match by controlling the serving and blocking portions of the contest and limiting the Eagles to one victorious set.

EAGLES SURVIVE FIVE-SETTER

No. 34 Granite Hills emerged from the week with two Grossmont Hills victories, beginning with a dramatic five-set decision at No. 40 El Capitan.

The Eagles prevailed, 17-25, 25-22, 25-14, 19-25, 15-10, after El Capitan twice answered to extend the match.

Brinkley Lawton led Granite Hills with 11 kills on .346 hitting and added 11 digs. Miranda Haisch recorded 10 kills, hit .333, served five aces and supplied two blocks.

Savannah Hickman finished with nine kills and 11 digs, while Kenzie Ellis contributed eight kills.

Lily Ennis ran the Granite Hills attack with 26 assists. She also delivered 13 digs and five aces. MacKenna Palmer led the Eagles with 19 digs, and Skylar Rice added 10 assists.

El Capitan’s Teegan Hinrichsen finished with 12 kills, a .281 hitting percentage and two blocks. Josephine Conyers had eight kills and 21 digs, and Olivia Bania distributed 28 assists while collecting 19 digs.

Harper Liedecke led the Vaqueros with 23 digs and six aces. Abby Thoren added four aces, and Raven Honstead served three.

Granite Hills completed its unbeaten week by sweeping Grossmont, 25-22, 27-25, 25-21.

Ennis had eight kills on .412 hitting, Hickman supplied nine kills and Haisch added five kills and two blocks.

Grossmont’s Imani Hayes had 16 kills in the loss, while Jacqueline Villalobos put down five kills at a .625 rate.

The two victories moved Granite Hills to 17-8 at the conclusion of the week.

SANTANA RESPONDS IN FIVE

No. 30 Santana went 2-1 during a demanding three-match stretch.

The Sultans began the week by defeating Grossmont, 25-19, 25-15, 19-25, 25-17. They then fell to league-leading Helix before recovering less than 24 hours later to defeat No. 37 Christian in five sets.

Santana prevailed over the Patriots, 25-13, 21-25, 25-19, 14-25, 15-11.

Neither team submitted individual statistics, but the Sultans answered each Christian response and closed the deciding set with the four-point margin.

Santana finished the week 14-6 overall, including victories in nine of its first 11 home matches.

Grossmont received an exceptional individual performance in its loss to the Sultans.

Sofia Reid erupted for 25 kills and hit .447 over four sets. Imani Hayes added 13 kills and 13 digs, while Jacqueline Villalobos produced 39 assists.

Josephine Canon led the Foothillers with 18 digs, Denisse Arriaga participated in three blocks and Grossmont finished with 45 kills, five blocks, eight aces and 63 digs.

VALHALLA REMAINS PERFECT

Valhalla improved to 3-0 in the Grossmont Valley League with victories over Monte Vista and El Cajon Valley.

The Norsemen defeated Monte Vista in four sets on Sept. 28 and swept El Cajon Valley, 25-21, 25-6, 25-22, two nights later.

Jordann Bollens led the sweep with 11 kills on .348 hitting and 20 digs. Audrey Reece added eight kills, eight digs and three aces.

Trianne Nguyentu handed out 28 assists and served five aces. Morgan Miles finished with four kills on five attacks and three aces, while Finley Ryan added three kills and four aces.

Valhalla controlled the net behind Marcie Grein, who recorded seven total blocks in three sets.

The Norsemen improved to 9-12 at the end of the review period after beginning league play with three consecutive victories.

El Cajon Valley’s Olive Melendez had seven kills, six digs, one ace and one block against Valhalla. Aneeta Shamoon added two kills on three attacks and two blocks, while Laura Rodriguez had 13 digs and three aces.

WEST HILLS KEEPS PACE

West Hills remained unbeaten in the Grossmont Valley League with a 25-13, 25-22, 25-12 sweep at El Cajon Valley.

The Wolf Pack improved to 13-11 overall and 3-0 in league play, setting up a first-place meeting between two undefeated league teams when West Hills met Valhalla the following week.

El Cajon Valley’s Melendez led the Braves with seven kills and 14 digs. Rodriguez contributed three kills on .375 hitting and also had 14 digs.

The victory kept West Hills alongside Valhalla as the Grossmont Valley’s two remaining unbeaten teams at the end of the week.

MONARCHS FIND TOURNAMENT SUCCESS

Monte Vista ended the week with two encouraging victories at its own tournament.

The Monarchs swept Victory Christian Academy, 25-20, 26-24, on Oct. 2. They returned the following day and rallied past O’Farrell Charter, 19-25, 25-20, 16-13.

The O’Farrell victory required a third-set comeback after Monte Vista dropped the opening set. The Monarchs recovered to win two consecutive sets and close the match in an extended deciding frame.

The two tournament wins moved Monte Vista to 9-22 and provided a positive response after earlier league losses to Valhalla and Mount Miguel.

MATADORS BREAKS THROUGH

Mount Miguel opened the week by pushing Hoover to five sets before falling, 3-2.

The Matadors responded by defeating Monte Vista, 3-1, in Grossmont Valley play on Sept. 30.

The victory improved Mount Miguel to 7-10 and represented its first league success after losses to Valhalla and West Hills.

BRAVES FIND BRIGHT SPOTS

El Cajon Valley faced five opponents during the week, falling to West Hills and Valhalla in league play before competing in the Monte Vista tournament.

Against West Hills, Melendez recorded seven kills on .250 hitting and shared the team lead with 14 digs. Rodriguez also collected 14 digs and produced three kills without an attacking error.

In the match against Valhalla, Melendez again led the Braves with seven kills. Shamoon hit .667 and recorded two blocks, while Rodriguez finished with 13 digs and three aces.

The Braves later dropped two-set tournament matches against San Pasqual, Morse and Chula Vista.

LIONS SPLIT LEAGUE MATCHES

Liberty Charter swept Gompers Prep Academy on Sept. 29 before dropping a five-set decision against High Tech CV on Oct. 1.

The Lions won the first match, 3-0, before High Tech CV escaped with a 3-2 victory two nights later.

Liberty Charter ended the week 9-11 overall after splitting the two Frontier League contests.

REDHAWKS EXTENDS HIGH TECH MESA

Mountain Empire took High Tech Mesa to five sets in a 3-2 road loss on Sept. 29.

The Redhawks entered the match after winning three of their previous four and forced a deciding set before High Tech Mesa completed the victory.

Mountain Empire moved to 11-11 following the narrow nonleague defeat.

CHRISTIAN ENDURES DIFFICULT WEEK

No. 37 Christian faced one of the section’s most demanding two-match combinations.

The Patriots first fell in three sets against No. 3 Coronado, which entered the week with a 27-2 record. Christian then pushed Santana to five sets before falling, 15-11, in the deciding frame.

After dropping the opener at Santana, the Patriots won the second and fourth sets to force the fifth.

Christian completed the week 8-15, but its extended road battle against Santana offered a more competitive conclusion following the loss to one of the section’s elite programs.

PATRICK HENRY WINS TWICE

No. 19 Patrick Henry produced a 2-0 week in City Eastern League play.

The Patriots defeated University City, 24-26, 25-17, 25-14, 28-26, on Sept. 30, recovering from an opening-set loss and closing the match in an extended fourth set.

Patrick Henry followed with a three-set sweep of Lincoln on Oct. 2, improving to 18-9 overall.

The two victories kept the Patriots among the county’s top 20 teams and provided another successful week for the East County fringe program.

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