Royal Takes the Path of Least Resistance to 2-A Volleyball Title

The Royal High boys’ volleyball team, continuing a season-long trend, won its second consecutive Southern Section 2-A Division title Saturday with an easy 15-10, 15-4, 15-4 victory over Canyon at Marina High in Huntington Beach.

For Highlander Coach Bob Ferguson, whose team swept all but one of its matches in an undefeated season, the three-game sweep came as a departure from last season’s championship match in which Royal struggled to a five-game victory over St. Bernard.

“I thought we shouldn’t have gone five games last year,” Ferguson said. “I don’t want to sound egotistical, but we didn’t play well last year. We waited to get going.”

The Highlanders did not hesitate in this year’s final, taking only 1 1/2 hours to win the match.

Miguel Ramirez had eight of Royal’s 11 service aces, including five in the last game, as the Highlanders finished their season 20-0.

Adam White had 13 kills, Ramirez 12 and Mark Fiala 11 to lead a balanced Royal attack.

“Holy smokes we played well,” Ferguson said. “This was our best game this year.

“We beat Canyon in five games earlier this season, and I thought this would be tougher. I told everyone at school that they should plan to be here for 2 1/2 hours.

Canyon, which like the Royal program is in only its third year of interscholastic competition, completed its season 16-2.

Royal led, 11-10, in the first game when Fiala went to work. He had two service aces and a kill and Miguel Ramirez added a service ace as the Highlanders went on a 4-0 run to win the game.

Royal carried that momentum into the second game. Kevin Hambly had four kills and two blocks and Fiala added three kills and a service ace to spark a 10-1 run that turned a 4-3 lead into a 14-4 advantage. Scott Enright’s kill gave the Highlanders a 15-4 win--and a 2-0 lead in games.

The serve again played a big role in the third game. Royal trailed, 4-3, but five aces by Ramirez keyed a 12-0 run.

Canyon Coach Ardyce Masters said that her team lost momentum after the first game.

“I don’t know why we died,” she said. “You can’t die against a team like Royal because (it) will rip your face off.”

It seems the Highlanders have been doing a lot of that lately.

The title was the third for the Royal volleyball program in the past 12 months. Along with his two boys’ titles, Ferguson coached the Highlander girls to the 4-A title last fall.