Cougars keep winning

APPLE VALLEY • Similar to its run to a Desert Sky League title this season, the Granite Hills volleyball team had no problem in its playoff opener.

The Cougars swept Vista del Lago 25-21, 25-12 and 25-6 in a CIF-Southern Section Division III-AA first-round match on Tuesday night to improve to 8-0 at home.

Seventh-ranked Granite Hills, which features eight seniors, only lost one set in eight matches on its way to defending its DSL title this season.

On Tuesday, the Cougars trailed only twice and their biggest deficit was two points.

Granite Hills received a lot of production up front. Junior Hannah Fortin had a match-high 15 kills. Classmate Victoria Iosefa finished with 12 kills and eight digs, while senior Carly Calder added eight kills and senior Jillian Betts finished with five kills.

Senior Carly Chandler had seven digs and three aces and came up big serving in the final set, and senior setter Alex Nolasco dished out 28 assists.

The Cougars built leads of 6-0 and 11-1 in the first set, before Vista del Lago rallied and got within one at 17-16. From there the two teams traded points until it was 21-20. Then Iosefa and Betts recorded back-to-back kills followed by a point scored on Haleigh Bowen’s serve when the Ravens failed to get the ball back over the net. Calder finished off the set with a kill.

Vista del Lago scored the first point of the second set, but Granite Hills grabbed the lead at 3-2 on an Iosefa kill and never looked back. In the set, Betts served six straight points to give the Cougars a 17-5 lead, and Granite Hills grabbed a 23-8 lead on Fortin’s kill.

The Ravens jumped ahead again early in the third. But Granite got the ball back trailing 3-2, and Chandler served 15 straight points to give the Cougars a commanding 17-3 lead en route to winning big in the third set. During the run, Chandler recorded a couple of aces, provided a couple of spectacular digs and was supported by some powerful play at the net.

The Cougars play Charter Oak, which swept La Quinta, in the second round on Thursday. A coin toss this morning will determine the site of the match.

C.J. Daft can be reached at christiand@vvdailypress.com or at 951-6275.