When the Vikings play well, they can be very tough to beat.

Just ask Santa Barbara.

Valencia passed and served well and forced the Dons into mistakes of their own in a 3-0 sweep Wednesday at Valencia High School.

The Vikings won the first game 25-18 and took the second 25-17 before staving off a Santa Barbara rally in the third game with a 25-21 win.

For head coach Mark Knudsen, the performance was a welcome sight.

"We definitely played well," Knudsen said. "We beat ourselves against Westlake. Tonight we passed well, had a lot of options. We served well and didn't have many misses."

Valencia (2-1) did a good job of switching the point of attack, putting the younger Dons on their heels early.

Santa Barbara (2-1) struggled defensively and couldn't find an answer for Valencia's superior play at the net.

"It all started with the passing," said Valencia middle blocker Griffin Nichols. "Without it, us middles couldn't have it. Overall, I think we dominated up front."

The Dons didn't do themselves any favors by repeatedly setting the left side in the first game, and Nichols said the Vikings were eventually able to read the sets Santa Barbara was running.

More than anything, it was Santa Barbara's unforced errors that spelled doom, whether it was missed serves or late blocks or playing the ball under the net.

"We've got to be more disciplined," said Santa Barbara head coach Chad Arneson. "We're kind of a new group. We lost five seniors last year."

Valencia capitalized on the unforced errors in the second game by playing steadily and forcing Santa Barbara to make plays.

"When they're struggling, if we keep pressure on them it's hard to handle," Knudsen said.

Valencia jumped out to a big lead in the third game before the Dons mounted a late comeback.

Knudsen said he put in several players off the bench and it took them a second to find the right chemistry.

Nick Ferry led Valencia with 11 kills, while Eric Ensing had nine and Daniel Johnson and Josh Duarte had seven apiece. Steven Crane had 30 assists, while Johnson had nine digs and Duarte had three blocks.

For Santa Barbara, Alec Smyth had 11 kills and Alex Biedul added five.

"We have a lot of depth," Nichols said. "Everyone was into it."