After both having extra time off, the West Valley Mustangs and the San Jacinto Tigers will shake off the rust and duke it out at 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday. West Valley will be strutting in after a win while San Jacinto will be coming in after a defeat.
Last Friday, West Valley beat Tahquitz 3-1.
West Valley had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first set, they turned around to win the next three. The final score came out to 23-25, 25-17, 25-14, 25-18.
| 03/28/25 @ Tahquitz | 5 |
| 02/26/25 vs Temecula Prep | 3 |
| 03/18/25 vs San Jacinto Leadership Academy | 2 |
| 03/17/25 @ Nuview Bridge | 2 |
| 03/14/25 @ San Jacinto | 2 |
West Valley's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Lima Jr. Amisone, who had seven digs, five aces, and one block. Those five aces gave Amisone a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Carlvin Valdez, who had five digs and three aces.
Meanwhile, San Jacinto came up short against Temescal Canyon last Friday, falling 3-0.
While San Jacinto was not able to make it on the board, they still kept things close, especially in the second set. Once all was said and done, the final score wound up at 25-21, 25-22, 25-18.
West Valley will have to keep a close watch on Jo Jo Camargo and Skylar Murphy, a pair of players who had a big impact on San Jacinto's prior game. Camargo had 14 digs, while Murphy had nine kills, four digs, and four blocks. Murphy has been hot recently, having posted two or more blocks the last four times he's played.
San Jacinto has traveled a rocky road recently, having lost three of their last four matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 8-5 record this season. As for West Valley, their victory bumped their record up to 8-10.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Wednesday's contest: West Valley has really dialed in their serving this season, having averaged 5.2 aces per game. However, it's not like San Jacinto struggles in that department as they've been averaging 5.8 aces. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
West Valley came out on top in a nail-biter against San Jacinto in their previous meeting back in March, sneaking past 3-2. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was the Tigers' Joseph Gordon, who had 17 digs and two aces. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will the Mustangs still be able to contain Gordon? There's only one way to find out.
