Orange County Boys’ All-Star Volleyball Game : Sunset League Players Lead North to Victory

The North team, with seven players from the Sunset League, defeated the South, 15-5, 15-6, 7-15, in the Orange County High School Boys’ Volleyball All-Star match Friday at Golden West College.

The match, played in a mandatory three-game format, showed off the talent of various players. Woodbridge High School middle blocker Adam Keefe was the South’s dominant player. The North did a decent job of deflecting several of his spikes, but “he also crushed a few, too,” said Marina’s Andy Read, the North co-coach.

Newport Harbor setter Drew Sheward, playing for the South, was voted the match’s most valuable player. Sheward, as he has done for most of his four-year varsity career at Newport Harbor, controlled the tempo for the North, distributing the ball well to a host of top hitters.

“The first practice we had as a team, I just watched Drew in amazement,” said Edison’s John Herman, North co-coach. “He’s incredible the way he takes over a team. I just stepped back and said to myself, ‘We’re going to be OK as long as he’s around.’ ”

But the most obvious force in the match were those seven Sunset League players. All season the Sunset League had been touted as the county’s most competitive league. Watching the likes of Edison’s Brian Boone and Mark Presho, Marina’s Ron Browning and Doug Partis and Huntington Beach’s John Apostle whale at the ball, that seemed a safe point to make.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt we played in the toughest league this season,” Boone said.

Helping the North cause was the fact that those Sunset League opponents also spend a lot of time during the off-season playing volleyball with each other. With hitters galore on both teams, the match seemed to come down to good passing and mistakes.

“I think that’s where we were at an advantage,” Read said. “The kids all know about each other from playing together on the beach. That helps with overall ball control.”