Boys’ Volleyball: Laguna bounces back in style
When the Laguna Beach High boys’ volleyball team was eliminated in the semifinal round of the CIF Southern Section playoffs May 20, the season didn’t end there for the Breakers.
After the section finals were completed May 23, Laguna received a reprieve as it was invited to play in the CIF Boys’ Volleyball Southern California Regionals Division III tournament.
The Breakers made the most of that second chance.
Laguna, the No. 2-seed in the Division III regional, rallied from a set down and near-defeat in the second set against top-seeded Saddleback Valley Christian, to topple the Warriors, 19-25, 30-28, 25-23, 25-19, at Cerritos College in Norwalk.
The week before at Cerritos College, Saddleback Valley Christian swept St. Margaret’s to win the CIF-SS Division 4 championship, its third consecutive section title.
Laguna had been denied a spot in the CIF-SS Division 2 final May 23 by Oak Park, which defeated the Breakers in the semifinals May 20. The Eagles went on to defeat Valencia May 23 to win the division title at Cerritos College.
Laguna earned Saturday’s triumph which gave the program its second straight regional title, and fifth in seven years. The Breakers also defeated Saddleback Valley Christian in last year’s Division III regional final.
Laguna won the first three regional titles between 2009-2011.
“I’m really proud of the boys,” second-year Laguna Coach Darren Utterback said. “I felt that it was an intriguing matchup, facing pretty much the same Saddleback Valley Christian we faced last year. We just complete reloaded from last year. Only Tyler (Alter) was a returning starter with experience.
“The challenge was big heading into the regional. I told the guys going in, that we were the underdogs. We played with that mindset.”
Saddleback Valley Christian took the upper hand with its 25-19 opening-set win. The Warriors were on the verge of taking a 2-0 lead in the match, but couldn’t close out after being at set-point on five occasions. Laguna fought back for a crucial 30-28 win that infused the Breakers the remainder of the match.
Senior outside hitter Dane Bolson (five digs, two assists) had 10 of his team-high 25 kills, sophomore outside hitter Pete Obradovich one-third of his 18 kills, and junior setter Isaac Wulff 15 assists in the second set.
“They (Saddleback Valley Christian) came out on fire and played well in that first game,” Utterback said. “We made some little adjustments after that game, and the guys that were part of that challenge, really responded. We were down 24-22 but came back to tie it up. We came back again, and again, and again. It was a pretty great rally. Our guys came up with some big plays.
“We stole that second game, and then played better and better as the match went on.”
The Breakers staved off the Warriors in the third set to win, 25-23, and put a wrap on the match with a 25-19 fourth-set win.
Alter, a junior middle blocker, had 12 kills and five block assists. In addition to his 18 kills, Obradovich had 10 digs and two assists. Wulff finished with 48 assists, five digs and four block assists, sophomore defensive specialist Cole Paxson 10 digs and five assists, senior opposite Nick Rieckhoff five block assists, sophomore middle blocker Barry Greenough four block assists, and senior libero Adam Lythgoe seven digs and one assist, and senior libero Reed Donenfeld had five digs.
“The day after we lost to Oak Park, we didn’t practice,” Utterback said. “It gave us the chance to lick our wounds and get everything back on track. Once we received the bid, we rebooted and said, ‘Let’s try to go out and win this regional championship.’ I pointed out some of the (championship) banners that hang in our gym and I told the kids, we wanted to do that, be a part of that.”
To get to Saturday’s final, Laguna swept both No. 7-seeded Long Beach Rancho Dominguez (25-17, 25-11, 25-16) and third-seeded San Diego Francis Parker (25-18 ,25-23, 25-23).
“Francis Parker was a really good team, and I think that match was really helpful in getting us ready for the final,” Utterback said.
Utterback will be on the South boys’ team coaching staff, and Olson on the South squad, Friday for the Orange County prep volleyball All-Star games. The doubleheader begins with the girls’ match, followed by the boys’ match (7:30 p.m.) at Newport Harbor High.
In the second of three CIF Southern California Regional finals at Cerritos College last Saturday, top-seeded Corona del Mar came back from two sets down to defeat second-seeded Oak Park (16-25, 25-27, 25-19, 25-18, 15-10) to win Division II.
In the nightcap, top-seeded Huntington Beach swept No. 2-seeded Los Angeles Loyola (25-11, 25-22, 25-21) to win its third consecutive Division I regional title.
Huntington Beach previously defeated Corona del Mar in the CIF-SS Division 1 title match May 23.
Twitter: @MikeSciacca