Flintridge Prep boys’ volleyball falls in semifinals for second straight year

IRVINE — For a second consecutive year, the path to a first-ever CIF Southern Section championship appearance for the Flintridge Prep boys’ volleyball team was derailed in Orange County.

The Prep League champion Rebels certainly had their moments and their rallies, but in the end second-seeded Crean Lutheran was too tough, winning Wednesday evening’s Division IV semifinal , 25-20, 25-23, 25-15 in Irvine.

With the defeat, the third-seeded Rebels capped arguably their greatest season ever with an undefeated Prep League championship (8-0 record) and a team record for victories (24-5).

The season may not be over as well, as Flintridge Prep may be selected to the CIF State playoffs as pairings are set to be released Sunday.

The state playoffs, though, were far from the mind of Rebels Coach Sean Beattie.

“They just play a different level of volleyball out here,” said Beattie, whose team was bested, 3-0, by San Juan Capistrano St. Margaret’s in last year’s semifinals. “This was a tough, intense match and, for us, it seems like we almost have to wait to get to the playoffs to play in these types of games.

“Down here, these teams are beating up on each other and it’s almost like another game. We played in the [Crescenta Valley] Tournament against Division II teams to get us ready, but it’s just a tough brand of volleyball.”

Subsequently, Crean Lutheran’s win sets up an All-Orange County showdown with top-seeded Saddleback Valley Christian (33-3) on Saturday at Cerritos College.

While many of the Rebels were unfamiliar with Crean Lutheran, reigning All-Area Boys’ Volleyball Player of the Year Dante Fregoso was the focal point of the Saints’ defense.

“Our goal was just to have four arms up every time [Fregoso] swung tonight and we were pretty close to doing that,” Crean Lutheran Coach Eric Olson said.

The 6-foot-4 Fregoso faced a mix of front-line defenders, including 6-6 Riley Evans, 6-4 Tanner Petchul, 6-3 Nate Tjepkema and 6-3 Andy McFarlane.

Olson’s strategy paid dividends as Fregoso was held to a season-low 10 kills, while no other Rebel was in double-digit kills.

“It’s always tough when other teams are stacking guys against me, but that’s nothing new,” the St. Mary’s University-bound Fregoso said. “We tried moving the ball around, but Crean was very consistent.”

On the flip side, the Academy League champion Saints (26-2) boasted a diverse offense, as three players tallied seven or more kills, led by a match-high 11 from McFarlane.

Despite all the stats and strategy, the Rebels had a couple of moments to change the complexion of the match.

Flintridge Prep trailed, 11-6, in the first set but rallied with a 10-5 spurt to pull even at 16 on a Saints’ attacking error.

The Rebels took leads of 18-17 and 19-18, but followed both advantages with service errors.

Tied at 20, the Rebels committed three errors and Crean Lutheran closed out with a 5-0 run to win, 25-20.

In the second set, the Rebels struggled again early, trailing, 12-6, and 23-17.

Yet, down by six, Flintridge Prep made a compelling last stand with a 6-1 run capped on a thunderous block by senior Miles Johnson of Crean’s Robert Briones to pull within 24-23.

The furious rally was ended, though, as McFarlane crushed a front-row kill for a 25-23 victory and a 2-0 Saints’ advantage.

“It’s hard to comeback 0-2 and I think if we win that first or second game, it’s different,” said Johnson, who finished with four blocks. “We were a little down and it was just hard to come back.”

Flintridge Prep was tied at 8 in the third game, but a 9-3 spurt from the Saints gave them a 17-11 lead they never relinquished en route to a 25-15 victory.

Rebels junior Jonathan Samuels finished with eight kills, while AJ Nicassio and Majeed Ismail added six kills each.

“I told [the team] that they could sit in here and think about the ‘what ifs’ or you could sit in here and think about the ‘what I did’ and I told them to take out of here what they did this year,” Beattie said. “Twenty-four wins – the most this team has ever had. Five loses – the least the team has ever had.

“You can sit here and pick apart the game, but there’s no need to do that.”