Heavey helps Vikings to sweep of Rams

The sophomore outside hitter looked perfectly comfortable Wednesday.

Heavey had 11 kills, seven digs and two blocks to help the Vikings cruise past visiting Rancho, 25-22, 25-19, 25-17 in a Northeast League matchup.

Heavey posted both blocks during a 7-0 run that helped Valley (11-4, 9-3 Northeast) turn a 21-17 deficit into a 24-21 advantage before closing out the first set with a smashing kill.

“Coach called a timeout, and he just said, ‘this is where you have to do it. We need to step up right now,’” Heavey said. “The whole team stepped up at the net, at the passers, at the swings. We had it all today.”

The win gave Valley a two-match lead on Rancho for the league’s No. 2 seed in the Sunrise Region playoffs with three matches to play in the regular season.

The Vikings used the momentum of the run at the end of the first set to jump to an 11-5 lead in the second, and Valley stormed to a 14-6 lead in the third.

Heavey, a 6-foot-4-inch middle hitter who played on the freshman team a year ago, helped Valley open up the contest at the net. Five Vikings combined for 11 blocks. Jevan King and setter Peter Nunes each had three blocks.

“It was definitely a confidence booster for us,” Heavey said of his team’s stifling block. “We got in their heads a bit, and we locked down at the net. That momentum brought us into the second game, and through the whole match.”

Valley has relied on four sophomores this season. Sophomore Matt Ballaro served five aces to go along with eight kills to keep the Rams off-balance.

“Jack’s been incredibly consistent for us all year,” Valley coach Matt Porter said. “He’s become our go-to guy, and he does a great job for us every match. But we have so many other options, so they can’t key on one hitter. We’ll have two or three other hitters that can create havoc for the other team.

“We have total confidence in all our hitters, and we don’t feel like we have to rely on one person.”

Nunes also had 30 assists and seven digs for the Vikings, and Lorenzo Capannollo added seven kills. Valley’s Ignacio Diaz had five kills and two blocks.

“We could have three more hitters, and if we don’t have Peter, this machine never runs,” Porter said. “He is definitely the catalyst to our offense. There’s no question about it.”

Guillermo Silva had 11 kills for Rancho, and Kendall Reynolds added 21 assists. R’Mond Hill supplied six kills for the Rams.