TEMECULA — The Temecula Valley and Oaks Christian girls volleyball teams finished eighth and ninth, respectively, in the CIF Southern Section’s final regular-season rankings.

And the volleyball gods seemed determined to make these evenly-matched squads go the distance in Wednesday night’s Division 1 playoff opener.

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Temecula Valley’s Savannah Sheridan (1) spikes the ball during a CIF Southern Section Division 1 first-round girls volleyball match against Oaks Christian at Temecula Valley High School in Temecula on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. (Photo by Nick Koon, Contributing Photographer)

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Temecula Valley had different plans, however. The Golden Bears erased an 18-12 deficit in the fourth set and pulled out a 22-25, 26-24, 25-22, 25-23 win to advance to the next round of the playoffs.

The victory assured Temecula Valley of a spot in the upcoming CIF State playoffs. The Golden Bears will travel to Chatsworth and play top-seeded Sierra Canyon in a quarterfinal match Tuesday.

“It took all the determination that we had,” said senior outside hitter Savannah Sheridan, who had a team-high 15 kills for the Golden Bears. “We were down big at certain moments, so we just needed to get back into the right mindset. We never lost belief in ourselves, and I think that has been something that has helped carry us throughout most of the season.”

Temecula Valley (19-3 overall) was riding the wave of momentum after taking the second and third sets. But the Golden Bears fell into an early hole in the fourth frame and then faced an 18-12 deficit. Sophomore opposite hitter Larkin Deinhammer registered a kill that brought freshman defensive specialist Juliana Goodin onto the court and to the service line. Goodin recorded back-to-back aces, and two more of her serves had Oaks Christian scrambling. Deihhammer ripped another kill to cap a 5-0 run that brought Temecula Valley within a single point.

The score was tied at 23 later in the set, but an attacking error by Oaks Christian and a kill by Anaya Francois brought the match to and end at set off Temecula Valley’s celebration on the floor.

Goodin finished with a match-high four aces, and fellow freshman Caitlyn Yulfo tallied 10 kills for the Golden Bears. Deinhammer had five kills, three of those coming in the final frame.

“We’ve been very dependent on our outside hitters (Sheridan and Francois) this season,” Temecula Valley coach Neemias Costa said, “We have been talking a lot at practice lately about how we were going to need everyone to step up in order for us to win this match. Seeing our younger players doing that at really important moments of matches has been wonderful.”

Outside hitters Jady Mape and Sadie Kocur helped Oaks Christian (25-5) race out to 9-4 advantage in the opening frame. Temecula Valley rallied and leveled the score at 11 and 12, but the Golden Bears never managed to grab the lead. Mape delivered a kill to put the Lions on set point at 24-21, and she hammered another kill to give Oaks Christian the game.

The second set was tight from start to finish, but Oaks Christian carved out a 23-20 lead following back-to-back kills from opposite hitter Masina Ogbechie. Temecula Valley cut the deficit to 23-22, but another kill by Ogbechie gave the Lions two set points. The Golden Bears had a response, however, as they rattled off four consecutive points. Francois recorded a pair of kills sandwiched around an attacking error by Oaks Christian, and Deinhammer capped the late flurry with a kill to level the match at a set apiece.

“I think everyone was locked in during those moments,” senior setter Stephanie Gonzalez said of her team’s comebacks in the second and fourth sets. “It takes a joint effort from everyone to be able to do things like that. We were all working together and helping each other out, and I believe it’s the reason why we were able to come out on top tonight.”

Oaks Christian had the size advantage across the net, and the Lions finished the match with 14 blocks. Temecula Valley managed to avoid that wall in the third set, as the Lions only recorded one block in that frame. The Golden Bears used am 11-4 to take control of the fourth game, Francois tallied four kills in that set and finished the night with 14.

Temecula Valley has been selected for the Division 1 playoffs the past two years. And the Golden Bears are the only Inland team who can claim that honor each of those two seasons.

“There’s a lot of pride in being that team, and we didn’t want our season to end tonight,” Sheridan said. “We put everything into the match to make sure we qualified for state.”

Mape recorded a match-high 18 kills to lead a balanced attack for Oaks Christian, while Kocur and Ogbechie finished with 14 and 11 kills, respectively. Abigail Kolder led the defensive effort at the net for the Lions with three solo blocks and four block assists. McKenna Kimbell had seven block assists, and Ogbechie added six block assists.


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