Willow Canyon spikers romp in opener

The Willow Canyon High School volleyball team knows how to win a cat fight. The Wildcats raced out of the gates to start the season with a 25-13, 25-12, 25-5 home win against the Central Bobcats Tuesday night. "They did really well," Willow Canyon coach Morgan Ratlief said of her team. " They started strong and stayed strong most of the night. "There were some points in the match where they started to let down, but we're going to work on that right away in practice." Willow Canyon relied on fast starts each game and trailed just once the entire match. That occurred when the Bobcats held a short-lived 3-1 lead in the second game. Strong service games keyed the solid starts in each game. Rebecca Valdez won seven straight points on her serve in the first game and eight straight points on serve in the final game. "We have been working on making tough serves," the coach said. "It's nice when the hard work pays off." The hard work produced a victorious debut in Class 5A Division 2 competition for Willow Canyon. The Wildcats finished 13-13 last year while competing in Class 4A. "It was important for us to get off to a good start while making the jump to 5A," Ratlief said. "It helps keep the girls determined and focused. "They're already starting to talk about our next match (Thursday at Dobson). Ratlief complimented the work of Veronica D'Amato and Tanner David. "I thought Veronica did great with passing and her defensive digs," Ratlief said. "Tanner did a great job at the net."