Foothills Sentry September 2023

Foothills Sentry Page 14 September 2023 Foothill sweeps St. Margaret’s in girls volleyball Santiago Canyon women’s soccer targets Saddleback College for OEC title The Foothill Junior Varsity Knights opened the volleyball season with a win over St. Margaret’s, taking the first game, 25-22. The St. Margaret’s Tartans tied it up with a 25-12 win in the second game, but Foothill outlasted its opponents to take the set, scoring 15-10 in the final. The Sports Information Directors (SIDS) of the Orange Empire Conference (OEC) conducted their annual poll, which showed it to be another tight race for the Orange Empire Conference title. The results indicated that Saddleback holds a slight edge over Santiago Canyon, with Cypress lurking. Last season, Saddleback jumped into the winner's circle, nabbing its first state title in program history. Santiago Canyon won four state titles between 2006 to 2019. Previous to that, Cypress was a power around the turn of the century when it won three titles in seven years. Orange Coast was the first OEC program to record a COMMUNITY SPORTS BY CLIFF ROBBINS AND CHAD CLINE state championship in 1989. Saddleback finished in second place behind the Santiago Canyon Hawks a season ago, but the Bobcats got sweet revenge when it beat the Hawks in the regional finals to advance to the state tournament. Saddleback ended up cashing in, scoring victories over San Joaquin Delta College and Chaffey College, to hoist the trophy. The Bobcats lost a lot to graduation, when six different players signed with four-year schools, including four to the NCAA Division I level. Fortunately, a lot of components are still there and Saddleback looks primed to make another run. The Bobcats picked up three Claire Jensen from Foothill High trolls the back line. Ella Irwin (1) and Haley Langdon (7) from Foothill High do battle at the net against St. Margaret’s. Santiago Hawk Megan Llopis scores in the pre-season scrimmage game against Providence College. SCC’s Jordyn Lamastra takes a head shot to the net against Provi- dence College. Jacqueline Arroyo from Santiago Canyon College fights off a Provi- dence College defender. Kamryn Phillips, from Foothill High, goes over the net for the block. Ella Irwin has a clear shot to score against a St. Margaret’s defender. first place votes and four second place votes among the SID's this week. Santiago Canyon finished second on SID's ballots, but has been considered one of the favorites for nearly 20 years. The Hawks won 15 straight conference titles from 2004-2018, and have played in the state finals six times. The Santiago Canyon team scrimmaged Providence Christian College, scoring two goals and allowing one. Key match ups will be in the fall: Santiago Canyon women host Saddleback College on Oct. 17 at 3 p.m., and closes the season at Saddleback on Nov. 9 at 3 p.m. Round one of the CCCAA Championships starts Nov. 15. The Foothill Varsity Knights were well tested, going five games against St. Margaret’s in their season opener. Foothill lost the first set, 23-25, but bounced back to win the second, 25-21. Each team swapped a win to tie two sets each. Foothill won the fifth set, 15-8.