Before the season started most people thought when it came to prep volleyball it was Los Osos, then everyone else. In fact, that’s exactly how one coach put it.
Well that turned out not to be the case as Rancho Cucamonga was the team that marched through Baseline League play unscathed. Well they have two matches left but those are just a formality.
The Cougars beat their rival twice – 3-0 and 3-1. Both were convincing.
Player for player Rancho didn’t measure up but the Cougars made up for that with all the other intangibles it takes to make a great team. Kylie Miller is just a great all-around player. She can hit, she sets, she can pass. And she has a serve that is nearly impossible to return. She has a solid cast around her too.
For Los Osos this will be a gut check. The Grizzlies will still make the playoffs and they will, no doubt, be a very formidable foe. They had won the last three titles before being dethroned. Sometimes you can win so much you can get complacent. And they do have probably the best player in the area in Ashten Smith-Gooden. They’ll be just fine too. But Rancho winning only adds to what is a great rivalry . . . in pretty much every sport.
