Flintridge Prep’s Sean Beattie is Mr. 300
LA CRESCENTA — While playoff preparation was the main motivation for both the Flintridge Prep and Crescenta Valley High boys’ volleyball teams at Saturday’s final day of the 15th annual Crescenta Valley Varsity Tournament, there were a few other perks.
Rebels Coach Sean Beattie claimed career win No. 300 as his Rebels took fifth place in the gold division, while the Falcons picked up a slice of revenge in finishing seventh in the gold division in the 16-team, two-day event.
“I’m very excited about 300 [wins] and really happy to do it with this group of guys,” Beattie said. “I think [senior outside hitter] Dante [Fregoso] has been here for about 80 of those, so he and many others deserve a lot of credit, too.”
Win No. 300 came in the final of six matches for the Rebels, who finished the tournament with a 4-2 mark and improved their season record to 20-4.
Flintridge Prep squared off with Taft, the same squad that the Rebels began the tournament against.
While Flintridge Prep dropped the tournament opener, 20-25, 27-25, 15-7, this time the Rebels prevailed in the gold division fifth-place match, 25-22, 19-25, 15-13.
Fregoso led the way, as the two-time reigning All-Area Player of the Year finished with 21 kills and two blocks.
“This tournament is important for us because we’re almost playing against all upper-division teams,” Fregoso said. “This is all about confidence building going into our last game of the season and playoffs.”
Beattie and the rest of the Rebels seemed oblivious to win No. 300 until Fregoso reminded the squad of the accomplishment.
“This is one of the highlights of my Prep career, it’s pretty cool,” Fregoso said.
Rebels junior Jonathan Samuels added six kills and three blocks in the win, while setter Aldridge Khin tallied 32 assists.
Flintridge Prep flexed its muscles against some area foes, including defeating host Crescenta Valley, 25-15, 26-24, in the consolation semifinals that sent the Rebels into the fifth-place match and the Falcons into the seventh-place contest.
The Falcons (17-14) were on the verge of forcing a third set as junior middle blocker Brett Dunkin connected on the final of his six kills for the match to put Crescenta Valley ahead, 24-23, in the second game.
Yet, the Rebels responded with a match-clinching 3-0 run that consisted of a kill from AJ Nicassio (seven kills), a block from Miles Johnson and a clinching ace from Nicassio.
The victory was the second of the day for the Rebels, who rallied after losing to Chatsworth 20-25, 26-24, 15-10 in the gold division quarterfinals.
On Friday, Flintridge Prep finished 2-1 and took second in its pool to Taft.
After the loss to Taft on Friday, the Rebels bounced back with a 25-17, 25-12 triumph over Garden Grove followed by an area victory over Burbank, 25-19, 25-23.
The Prep League champion Rebels finish the regular season on Tuesday at Rio Hondo Prep.
Like Flintridge Prep, Crescenta Valley also picked up some payback in its final match of the day in the seventh-place contest against Anaheim Canyon.
Canyon defeated the Falcons, 25-20, 25-23, in Friday’s second match of pool play. The Falcons won the rematch on Saturday, 25-21, 25-22.
“It’s always nice to turn around and beat the same team that just beat you,” said Crescenta Valley Coach John Nelson, whose squad finished 3-3. “It’s a nice way to end the tournament.”
The victory helped ease a 1-2 effort for Crescenta Valley on Saturday. Outside of the defeat to the Rebels, the Falcons opened the day dropping a 25-11, 25-18 gold division quarterfinal match to eventual tournament champion South Pasadena.
On Friday, the Falcons went 2-1, with victories of 25-9, 25-9 over Garden Grove Pacifica and 25-22, 25-23 against Thousand Oaks serving as bookends to the Canyon defeat.
“What I like about the tournament is that it’s a lot of fun to play against different teams than just against the same ones we see in league and in the area,” Dunkin said. “You pick up a lot seeing different talent from different divisions.”
Crescenta Valley has a tall task of closing out the season Tuesday against Pacific League champion Burroughs before the playoffs get underway.
A Falcons’ win coupled with a Burbank loss to Arcadia would secure second place for Crescenta Valley.
As for the tournament, South Pasadena won its second championship in three years. South Pasadena’s Greg Luck was the tournament most valuable player.
South Pasadena’s Max Luck and Alex Nakagava, Eagle Rock’s Ghie Lubrica and Brennan Harvey, Thousand Oaks’ Jeremy Wong and Chatsworth’s Erik Lee were named to the All-Crescenta Valley Tournament Team.
