Oilers, Chargers advance

Three-time defending champion Huntington Beach High and Edison opened the 2016 CIF Southern Section boys’ volleyball playoffs with victories Tuesday.

The Oilers advanced to a Thursday second-round matchup against Dana Hills by defeating the visiting Wildcats, 25-22, 26-28, 25-12, 25-19. The Chargers also will play Thursday due to their five-set victory at Goleta Dos Pueblos, 25-21, 22-25, 25-23, 13-25, 15-7.

Senior middle blockers Shane Holdaway and Davey Kim had 12 and 10 kills, respectively, as Sunset League co-champion Huntington improved to 27-1.

“We were a little sluggish to start the match, but as we moved into set three, we started to find our rhythm,” Oilers Coach Craig Pazanti said. “I hope this is a good wake-up call for us as we move forward in the playoffs.”

Huntington travels Thursday for a 7 p.m. second-round date at Dana Hills.

The Dolphins (22-10), a playoff at-large entry from the South Coast League, won their playoff opener Tuesday by rallying for a 21-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-19, 15-12 win at Trinity League champion Mater Dei.

“Dana Hills has a quality program,” Pazanti said. “They are a top team in [Orange County] every year. We will need to be disciplined, and have a good effort to advance on Thursday.”

The Huntington-Dana Hills winner advances to face the winner of a Thursday matchup between Corona del Mar (Pacific Coast League champion) and Redondo Union (Bay League No. 3), in a quarterfinal match Saturday.

Prior to the start of the playoffs, Huntington, which ended the regular season No. 1 in Division 1 rankings, went to Manhattan Beach Mira Costa for a key showdown May 5, and got past the host Mustangs in five sets, 21-25, 25-21, 25-22, 19-25, 17-15. Kim had 16 kills and six blocks and Holdaway 12 kills and five blocks.

Despite the win, Huntington is the No. 4-seed in the Division 1 playoffs. Mira Costa No. 1, Los Angeles Loyola No. 2, and Newport Harbor No. 3.

Edison and Los Alamitos tied for third place in the Sunset League and played a May 4 match that determined which team would received the third automatic berth to the Division 1 playoffs. The Chargers lost that match, 3-2, but were awarded one of the division’s two playoff at-large berths.

Edison made the most of that opportunity by winning in five sets at Channel League champion Dos Pueblos Tuesday. Outside hitters Trent Williams and Tyler Power had 20 and 19 kills, respectively, to lead the way for the Chargers who improved to 16-12 and will host second-seeded Los Angeles Loyola at 7 p.m. Thursday.

“Our team really came out to play after the long trip up to Dos Pueblos,” Edison Coach Matt Skolnik said. “We showed a lot of heart and resiliency after dropping the fourth game (25-13). We played our best game in Game 5. Trent Williams started the game with a great service run, and Tyler Power had a lot of big kills for us in that game.”

Mission League champion Loyola eased its way Tuesday to a 25-15, 25-9, 25-8 sweep of visiting Rolling Hills Estates Peninsula (Bay League at-large).

“Loyola is a very good team,” Skolnik said. “We will have to bring our best game if we want to advance to the quarterfinals.”

The Loyola-Edison winner moves on to Saturday’s quarterfinal round to face the winner of the Thursday second-round matchup between San Clemente (South Coast League No. 2) and Marmonte League champ Westlake.

The Division 1 semifinals are 7 p.m. Wednesday.

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Boys’ Golf

The CIF-SS Southern Individual Regional was played Monday at Skylinks Golf Course in Long Beach. Senior Brett Bennett of Huntington Beach shot a 71 and finished in fourth place and advances to compete May 19 at the CIF-SS Individual Finals at Mission Lakes Golf Course in Desert Hot Springs.

The top 20 low scores advance to the Individual Finals. Beckman senior Everton Hawkins won the regional with a 68 score.

Other scores from Monday’s regional: Liam Bhakta, Edison, Sr. (79 score, tie-50th); Tony Dibernardo, Huntington Beach, Fr., (80, tie-59th); 110 Chris Lee, Ocean View, Soph. (99, 110th).

The CIF-SS Southern Team Division playoffs start at 8 a.m. Monday at Mile Square Golf Course in Fountain Valley.

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Boys’ Tennis

Ocean View played Estancia in a CIF-SS Division 4 wild-card match Tuesday. The Seahawks, who tied for second place in the Golden West League, scored a 14-4 victory over the Eagles (Orange Coast League No. 2).

Ocean View singles players Khang Vo and Tony Phan swept their three sets and the duos of Spencer Hagaman/Kyle Tsai and Zach Medina/Deven DeLeon swept in doubles.

Singles player Nathan Bryan and the doubles team of Connor LuVisi/Ivan Alcazar contributed one set to the victory.

The Seahawks improved to 12-4 and moved on to face Olympic League champion Pasadena Maranatha in a first-round match Wednesday. The score wasn’t available at press time.

“Coach Jim Moore and I are very proud of the boys accomplishments this season,” Ocean View Coach Steve DeWilde said. “They’ve shown us heart and character in their hard work and pulling for each other to come this far.”

Three Sunset League teams also were involved in CIF-SS Division 1 first-round matches Wednesday. Scores weren’t available at press time. In openers, Marina, the second-place team in the Sunset, played at Los Angeles Loyola (Mission League No. 2), Huntington Beach, the Sunset’s No. 3 team, played at Bay League champion and No. 3-seeded Rolling Hills Estates Peninsula, and Fountain Valley, an at-large entry, played at Ocean League winner Beverly Hills.

First-round winners advance to play at 3 p.m. Friday. Division quarterfinals are Monday, and division semifinals are Wednesday.

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Track and Field

The CIF-SS Track and Field Championships prelims meets are at various sites starting at 11 a.m. Saturday. The Division 1 prelims are at Trabuco Hills High.

The CIF-SS Track and Field Championships finals are May 21 at Cerritos College in Norwalk.

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CIF Weekly Rankings (final regular-season poll May 6)

Boys’ Volleyball: Huntington Beach (No. 1, Division 1).