Early in its Division II final against top-seeded Scripps Ranch, the Valhalla girls volleyball team looked like a squad competing in its first San Diego Section title match.

As the evening progressed, No. 3-seeded Valhalla looked less like a team happy to be there and more like a team hungry to win.

In the end, Scripps Ranch prevailed 25-12, 25-19, 25-27, 25-16 at Canyon Crest Academy, but the young Valhalla athletes provided hope for the future.

“We started out scared but started playing better toward the end,” Valhalla coach Doug Babington said last night. “I thought we played a really good tournament. We're a young team and I hope we get a chance to do it again.”

For the Falcons, it was their first championship since a three-year run from 2003 to 2005. Scripps Ranch lost to Westview in the 2007 final.

Falcons coach Ronni Olsen said she became nervous when her team dropped the third game to Valhalla after easily winning the first two. Scripps Ranch lost the 2007 championship match to the Wolverines after taking the first two games.

“It was nerve-racking when we let that third game slip away,” Olsen said. “We talked a lot about staying focused. I was proud that they got back on track in the fourth game.”

Valhalla looked overwhelmed in the first game as the Falcons put together a 13-point run to take a commanding 17-5 lead.

The Scripps Ranch offense was centered around opposite hitter/setter Alissa Alker, who had a match-leading 14 kills to go with 15 assists.

“Alker, as usual, was phenomenal in every aspect of the game,” Olsen said. “She leads the team and keeps them positive.”

Valhalla got all the jitters out in the first game and played the Falcons tough in the second before squeaking out a victory in the third.

Ally Hendrickson led Valhalla with 10 kills and six aces. Setter Beth Cylke had a match-high 27 assists.

Scripps Ranch cruised to a win in the fourth game to seal its fourth section title in six years.

“The last two years we let it slip away,” Olsen said. “It was nice to get this one.”