Rancho volleyball victory leaves coach dissatisfied

Even though her team had just swept host Valley to open Northeast League play, Rancho girls volleyball coach Allegra Derzon was frustrated, and she let her players know it.

Derzon’s unhappiness wasn’t from a lack of skill or ability. To the contrary, she was frustrated because she knows how much talent her team has. Enough talent, she says, to make a run at the league championship.

“We’re looking for a little more consistency on just the fundamentals,” Derzon said after her team’s 25-13, 25-19, 25-20 win over the Vikings. “Tonight we lacked that consistency. We were making the same mistakes over and over again.

“Yes, we got a win, but it’s not a win I’m particularly proud of, because I expect them to play better than that.”

Senior outside hitter Sara Arceneaux pounded four kills in the first game as the Rams rolled. But things got more interesting in the second and third games, as a series of errors let Valley rally. Rancho led 7-1 in the second game before four hitting errors and a pair of violations allowed the Vikings to take a 9-7 lead.

Rancho rattled off 13 of the next 14 points to regain control, but the lapse bothered Derzon.

“If we play the rest of the season like we played tonight, (the league title) is not going to happen,” she said. “They can play better than this. They can play harder. They’ve got the talent, they’ve got the athleticism and they’ve got the skill. But it’s just putting that all together.

“It’s a maturity thing almost, being able to handle all of those qualities that they have and putting it together.”

Arceneaux finished with seven kills to lead the Rams. Alexis Johnson and Aisha Momodu each had three blocks, and Christine Lauby and Sara Chelberg each had three aces. Setter Kayla Williams had 13 assists.

Kersey Wahlquist finished with 10 assists to lead Valley.