“I told them that they had to play every point like it was the last point,” Ryan said. “They did that by digging deep.”
The Falcons, who opened their season Thursday with a nonleague road victory against Alemany, then responded with a 9-2 run to capture the fourth game.
Senior libero Stephanie Garcia had two aces in that stretch to give the Falcons a 23-22 lead. Beverly Hills (0-2) knotted it at 24 before the Falcons picked up the next two points.
In the deciding game, Crescenta Valley received three kills from outside hitter Julia Adams and two from outside hitter Leah Gagliardi, who finished with a team-best 13 kills, to help complete the comeback. The Falcons clinched the victory on a kill by middle blocker Jessica Dieny.
“During the timeout, we just talked about going back out there and playing hard,” said Adams, who finished with nine kills and three aces. “[Ryan] told us to go out there and keep working hard.
“This will give us a lot of confidence for the rest of the season. The goal for us is to try to win league.”
Gagliardi, a reigning All-Area second-team and All-Pacific League first-team member, collected two kills in a row to give Crescenta Valley a 17-8 lead in the second game. The Falcons trailed throughout the third game, pushing Beverly Hills to the brink of victory.
Adams said the Falcons regrouped just in time.
“Even after we won the fourth game, I knew that I had to be focused on the ball, “ Adams said. “I wanted to go out there and find it and hope nobody would touch it after hitting it.”
Crescenta Valley registered 12 aces, including three from middle blocker Rachel Fisher in the second game.
