“Refuse to lose,” Vikings ready to take next step in defending CIF Division 4 title
Holtville volleyball hosts Foothills Christian in final home match of the season
HOLTVILLE, Calif. ( KYMA, KECY-TV ) - The Holtville Vikings volleyball season has been nothing short of spectacular. The Vikings claimed their first ever Imperial Valley League title and with it, the number one seed in the CIF San Diego Section Division 4 playoffs. In 2019, the Vikings won the division playoffs as a number 12 seed. The 2020 season was wiped out due to the pandemic and this year, the Vikings look to defend the 2019 title and advance back to the state playoffs.
"This is just a great group of athletes, Coach Mariana (Garewal) and I talked since this summer about this squad and just trusting these girls," Vikings Head Coach Chelsey Strahm said. "They've put in the time and they deserve to be here and like i said, they're a very special group."
Despite being the number one seed, the Vikings have not let that pressure get to them, rolling through their first two opponents in straight sets. Tonight the Vikings host the #4 seed Foothills Christian out of El Cajon. The Knights have also tore through the playoffs unblemished.
"We did not play them this year, we played them in 2019 and won in four (sets)," Strahm said. "We have a couple girls back from that squad and I know they have a couple girls back from that squad. I was able to watch some footage online and watch some games that way and look at some of our common opponents. It seems like it will be a pretty even match up, a tough match up but that's what we expect at this point in the season."
The Division 4 semi-final match up will be the final time the Vikings will play at home in the Birger Sports Complex. A win would send Holtville to the championship game on Friday, November 5th, in San Diego.
The Vikings are led by senior outside hitter Orian Anderson, junior libero Kalli Strahm and junior setter Sofie Irungaray.
"Each of our players is peaking at the right time," Strahm said. "Our setter Sofie definitely stepped it up last Friday and continues to improve day by day."
Strahm says they'll continue to take the one game at a time approach and doesn't foresee doing anything different.
"Our goal is just to do well each and every game," Strahm said. "Leave it all on the court, especially for our two seniors, knowing that next game could be your last. Being able to leave it all out there, knowing you gave your all. We know each match is going to get tougher but one of our quotes is refuse to lose."
Tuesday's match is set to start at 6:00 p.m. at the Birger Sports Complex in Holtville.
