PREP VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP : Huntington Beach, Taylor in a Hurry to Beat Edison

In that renowned hockey town of Huntington Beach, high school athletes keep their priorities straight. Even volleyball players.

So what was the motivation behind the Huntington Beach volleyball team’s 15-5, 15-6, 15-8 Sunset League victory over Edison on Friday?

“Our assistant coaches wanted us to get done early so they could get home in time to watch the Kings’ game,” said Matt Taylor, the Oilers’ outside hitter.

Since when were volleyball coaches and players--especially ones nicknamed the Oilers--fans of the Kings?

“Since the playoffs started,” Taylor said.

Taylor and his teammates didn’t disappoint, taking only 1 1/2 hours to sweep Edison. They sent their coaches home before the start of the hockey game’s second period.

Taylor had 21 kills and three blocks as the host Oilers, top-ranked in Orange County, stretched their league lead to two games over the fifth-ranked Chargers.

“Unless something radical happens, we should be in good shape in league,” Huntington Beach Coach Rocky Ciarelli said.

The victory was Huntington Beach’s second over Edison this season. In the first meeting last month, the Oilers rallied from a two-game deficit to beat Edison in five games.

But Huntington Beach (11-1, 7-0) didn’t need a comeback Friday night.

Behind the hitting of Taylor and middle blocker Jeff Vanderwal, the Oilers built leads of 10-5 in the first game and 11-4 in the second game. Vanderwal finished with 10 kills and a match-high five blocks.

“Vanderwal has really come along,” Ciarelli said. “He did a good job of blocking and passing, and his hitting was good, too.”

Edison (7-3, 5-2) failed to mount much offense, struggling with its passing. The Chargers had 17 hitting errors, including seven in the first game.

“We got a good lesson tonight,” Edison Coach Tim Wetzel said. “We needed to get our butts kicked.

Joe McCarthy had 17 kills for Edison.

In another Sunset League match:

Marina 3, Santa Ana 0--Brant Shelor had seven kills for visiting Marina (8-3, 5-2), which won 15-5, 15-11, 15-9.

In the Angelus League:

Santa Margarita 3, Servite 0--Zach Pelzel had 15 kills as host Santa Margarita (7-3, 4-1) won, 15-0, 15-3, 15-4.

In the Empire League:

Esperanza 3, Cypress 0--Ryan Delaney had 11 kills and four aces and Chris Pitzak had 11 aces and 20 assists for visiting Esperanza (9-0, 3-0), which won 15-6, 15-5, 15-4.

In Garden Grove League volleyball:

Garden Grove 3, La Quinta 1--Troy Davis had 19 kills and eight blocks and Seth Hall had 12 kills and 11 blocks for visiting Garden Grove (10-2, 8-0), which won, 11-15, 18-16, 15-6, 15-13.

In the Orange League:

Valencia 3, Villa Park 0--Lyle Castillo had eight kills and Doug Finnell had 23 assists for visiting Valencia (10-0, 4-0), a 15-10, 15-4, 15-7 winner.

In Pacific Coast League volleyball:

Estancia 3, Trabuco Hills 1--Matt Fuerbringer had 24 kills for host Estancia (4-7, 2-2), which won, 14-16, 15-8, 15-10, 15-7.

In the Sea View League:

Woodbridge 3, Saddleback 0--Matt Murphy had seven kills and two blocks for host Woodbridge (8-1, 4-0), a 15-3, 15-3, 15-8 winner.