PREP VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP : Foothill Nets First Empire Title

Dane Gorup paused for a moment after knocking down the final kill, the one that gave Foothill High School a five-game victory over Esperanza Tuesday for its first Empire League boys’ volleyball championship.

Gorup was the last to join the Knights’ celebration after rallying to clinch the league title with a 13-15, 15-8, 13-15, 15-11, 15-5 victory at Foothill.

“I kind of had to have a moment to myself,” said Gorup, a 6-foot-1 outside hitter who had 22 kills. “I had to gather my thoughts.”

Gorup wasn’t the only one trying to make sense of the Knights’ season.

After finishing last in the Sea View League with only two victories last season, Foothill is 14-1 overall, 9-0 in league play after moving to the Empire League.

“This is only the fourth year for our program,” Foothill Coach Chuck Cutenese said. “After having only two wins last year, this was a big change for us.”

Foothill rallied from a two-games-to-one deficit for the victory over Esperanza (13-2, 7-2). The Knights trailed, 5-2, in the fourth game, but scored 13 of the next 16 points to take a 14-8 lead.

Esperanza fought off five game points to cut the deficit to 14-11, but Foothill won it on a hitting error by Esperanza’s Jason Galeena.

“The weird thing about this team is that we dig ourselves in a hole and we come back,” Cutenese said. “All season we get to where we’re in a comfortable mode, then we come back.”

The Knights didn’t have to come back in the fifth game. They built leads of 5-1 and 11-2 behind Gorup’s eight kills and Jeff Janis’ three. Janis led Foothill with 30 kills.

“Dane’s very consistent,” Cutenese said. “He’s our best all-around player. He’s an outside hitter but he can even set the ball. He can play any position we need him to.

“Dane doesn’t get as much attention because Jeff is a big hitter and a nice jumper. That’s not to take anything away from Jeff, he’s a great player.”

Esperanza Coach John Reid said Foothill’s defensive play in the last two games made the difference.

“Foothill didn’t let anything hit the ground,” Reid said. “Our serving didn’t faze them and their blocking took us out of our game.”

Cutenese said Foothill’s defense in the back row was a factor, too.

“What hurt Esperanza in the fifth game was that instead of swinging away they just put the ball in our court to keep it in play,” Cutenese said. “And we were getting some digs.”

In another Empire League match:

Santa Ana 3, Cypress 1--Hector Salcedo had 23 kills and Nareth Meth had 37 assists as host Santa Ana won, 12-15, 15-8, 15-10, 15-9.

In the Garden Grove League:

La Quinta 3, Los Amigos 0--Paul Price had 11 kills and Phong Lu had 37 assists to lead host La Quinta (14-1, 13-0) to a 15-2, 15-8, 15-2 sweep.

Rancho Alamitos 3, Pacifica 0--Richard Pearce had 30 kills and eight blocks and Loc Pham had 27 assists and six blocks as host Rancho Alamitos (10-9, 9-4) won, 15-8, 15-12, 15-9.

In the Sea View League:

Corona del Mar 3, University 0--Doug Hesse had 16 kills and Carter Reese 15 to lead host Corona del Mar to a 15-7, 15-12, 17-15 victory. The Sea Kings (8-5, 8-1) clinched at least a tie for the league championship. University is 11-3, 7-2.

Newport Harbor 3, Saddleback 0--Ian Juberg had six kills to lead host Newport Harbor (8-5, 7-2) to a 15-2, 15-1, 15-12 victory.

In the South Coast League:

Dana Hills 3, Capistrano Valley 0--J.B. Taylor had 16 kills as Dana Hills (10-3, 8-1) clinched the league title with a 15-8, 15-7, 15-10 sweep.

In the Sunset League:

Edison 3, Ocean View 0--Daryl Ayers had nine kills and five blocks as No. 1-ranked Edison (14-1, 9-0) won, 15-1, 15-5, 15-10, at home.