Loyola Surprises Mira Costa to Repeat

This wasn’t supposed to be Los Angeles Loyola’s year.

The two-time defending Southern Section Division I boys’ volleyball champions lost five starters from last year’s team and Manhattan Beach Mira Costa was loaded with talent.

None of that seemed to matter Saturday at Cypress College when Loyola rose to the challenge and defeated the Mustangs, 15-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-22, for its third consecutive title and section-record ninth overall.

USC-bound senior C.J. Schellenberg, a 6-foot-8 hitter, had 17 kills and nine digs for Loyola (29-5), which lost to Mira Costa, 25-20, 28-30, 25-15, 25-22, in an April 27 nonleague match. The Mustangs had won 27 in a row before Saturday.

“All season, I was told that I didn’t have the talent to win this year,” Loyola Coach Michael Boehle said. “And on paper, [Mira Costa] is much more talented than we are. We were the underdogs without a doubt, but our guys played like they had nothing to lose and with a lot of heart.”

After taking a beating in Game 1, Boehle mixed up his rotation so that Schellenberg could match up with Mira Costa’s 6-8 blocker Matt Rawson, who is bound for Hawaii. Even though Rawson finished with 14 kills and three blocks, the strategy worked.

Rawson blocked Schellenberg only once in the final three games.

“A lot of people didn’t believe in us,” Schellenberg said. “But we pulled together and never let up.”

Mira Costa (33-2) boasted an intimidating front line that included Rawson, Jason Palacios and Chris Icaza. Palacios and Icaza each had 11 kills, but Loyola’s Tim Coffeldt helped offset the attack with 10 digs.

Orange Lutheran d. Oxnard, 23-25, 25-10, 25-12, 24-26, 15-10 -- The top-seeded Lancers (18-4) shook off a sluggish start and took control with tough serves and strong net play to win the Division III final, the program’s first title in four years of play.

Brandon Bollweg had nine kills, nine blocks and five aces to lead the Lancers, who had 45 blocks and 10 aces as a team.

Travis Pinick had a team-best 13 kills for Orange Lutheran, whose 6-5 middle blocker Chris Frey finished with 15 blocks.

Second-seeded Oxnard (20-7) was led by Charles Keeranan’s 23 kills. Teammate David Cervantes had 10 kills and setter Brian Hanahon had 40 assists.

-- Peter Yoon

Westlake Village Oaks Christian d. South Pasadena, 25-20, 25-16, 25-20 -- Brendan Skinner had 15 kills and 16 digs and Dominic Denham had 28 assists for the top-seeded Lions (31-1), who won the Division IV title by not dropping a game in the postseason.

Oaks Christian, which lost in the semifinals in five games last year, lost only to Oak Park in the Crescenta Valley tournament this season. Kevin McClure added nine kills; Alex Walker and Brandon Polley had 18 and 16 digs, respectively, for the Lions.

The second-seeded Tigers (22-6), playing in their first final since a loss to Loyola in 1983, were led by Neil Bell’s 15 kills and eight digs. Sang Lee had 23 assists for the Tigers.

Calabasas Viewpoint d. Pasadena Poly, 18-25, 19-25, 25-15, 25-14, 15-13 -- Alex Robertson had 15 kills and Robbie Silverman added 14 for the Patriots, who completed a 30-0 season by rallying from a two-game deficit to beat third-seeded Poly for the Division V title.

The Patriots, who won their first boys’ volleyball championship, came in having won 91 of 94 games this season, including nine consecutive in the postseason. But Poly (25-4), which was swept by Viewpoint earlier this season, came out hot. Led by Phillip Rosenberg, who finished with 31 kills, the Panthers never trailed in the first two games.

Jared Weiss had nine kills and setter Matt Talamantes had seven kills and 38 assists for the Patriots. Winston Mi finished with 45 assists and Danny Meurer contributed seven kills and eight blocks for Poly, which lost in the Division V finals last year to Windward.

-- Josh Gajewski