West Park dominates Oak Ridge in 3-set win

West Park High's volleyball team held its No. 2 seed with a dominating 25-18, 25-13, 25-19 win over third-seeded Oak Ridge on Tuesday in the semifinals of the Division I playoffs. The Panthers will play Folsom for the Division I section championship at 7 p.m. Saturday night at Cosumnes River College. From the start, the Panthers jumped on the Trojans early, led in every game and gained momentum as the night went on. In Oak Ridge's defense, the Trojans simply did not play well and were not their usual self. "We just didn't play well," Oak Ridge coach James Todd said. "We didn't execute the game plan. We lost. We've got to be tougher during practice, more accountable." Kelsey Frank led the Trojans with 11 kills, while Madelyn Snyder had 10. The Trojans fell behind 8-3 in the first set and at least five of West Park's points came on Trojan errors, as they had trouble doing just about everything; passing and hitting, especially. In game two, the Trojans trailed 17-10 on their way to another big loss. The team played a little bit better in the third game, but not enough to win. On the other hand, West Park was hot right from the start. A pair of young outside hitters, sophomore Claire Goulding and freshman Rylan Masys, were dynamite from the start. Masys led the Panthers in kills with 14, while Goulding added eight. Middle blockers Sasha Wanjala, a senior, and sophomore Abby Sutton provided a great option for setter Mia Ruiz, as Sutton added five kills, while Wanjala had four. Senior Katie Hannah also added three kills. "We played really well right from the start," West Park coach Mikaela Nocetti said. "The intensity was so strong. We had a game plan going into the match of things we needed to do and the girls were talking with each other and communicating very well on what we needed to do. "Rylan moved up to varsity about a month ago and she doesn't play like a freshman. She's intense and she plays with no fear. Sasha, my setter, my libero, my outsides, everyone played well. It was a good team win." Said Wanjala of her young teammate Masys, "She's amazing. She's worked really hard during practices and games and has helped us a lot." Wanjala also did her part. With Oak Ridge leading the third game about halfway through, Wanjala scored points on back-to-back blocks and then made a third block a point later to score three-of-the-next four points to put West Park in front for good. "I feel really excited," Wanjala said after the match. "We played really well. Our energy was there, our connection as a team was there. This was one of our best matches." West Park has got one more match to win to be section champs when they play top-seeded Folsom on Saturday. The teams met early in the season on Aug. 30 and the Panthers beat Folsom, 2-1 in a tournament, 25-20, 22-25, 15-13. "The strength of our team comes from our chemistry," Wanjala said. "We know each other off the court and we know how we play on the court. We know what to expect from each other, and we trust each other."