The West Valley Mustangs will venture away from home to take on the Elsinore Tigers at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
On Wednesday, West Valley came up short against Temescal Canyon and fell 3-1. The Mustangs have now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
West Valley couldn't get the win, but they sure gave Temescal Canyon a tough time in the second set. The final score came out to 25-23, 31-33, 25-18, 25-16.
| 04/16/25 vs Temescal Canyon | 35 |
| 04/09/25 vs San Jacinto | 21 |
| 03/28/25 @ Tahquitz | 16 |
| 03/26/25 vs Elsinore | 25 |
| 03/21/25 @ Temescal Canyon | 16 |
| + 4 more games |
Despite their defeat, West Valley saw several players rise to the challenge and make noteworthy plays. Carlvin Valdez, who had 35 assists and 14 digs, was perhaps the best of all. Valdez is on a roll when it comes to assists, as he's now posted 16 or more in each of the last nine games he's played. Another player making a difference was Diego Allievi, who had 12 digs and 11 kills.
Meanwhile, Elsinore got the win against Tahquitz on Wednesday by a conclusive 3-0. The win continues a trend for the Tigers in their matchups with the Titans: they've now won four in a row.
Elsinore walked away with the victory (and looked especially good in the second set). Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-16, 25-8, 25-17.
Elsinore's win came from a few key players West Valley will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Sharrod Almoite, who had nine digs and seven assists. Those nine digs gave him a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Andrew Bermudez, who had eight digs and two aces.
Elsinore's win was their third straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 19-5. As for West Valley, their loss dropped their record down to 8-12.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's match: West Valley has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 5 aces per game. However, it's not like Elsinore struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7.2 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
West Valley suffered a grim 3-0 defeat to Elsinore in their previous matchup back in March. Can the Mustangs avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
