PREP VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP : Capistrano Valley Settles Down and Serves Up Victory

The Capistrano Valley High School volleyball team tightened its grip on the South Coast League lead by loosening up.

The Cougars, second-ranked in Orange County, overcame a shaky start to breeze by ninth-ranked Mission Viejo, 15-13, 11-15, 15-6, 15-3, Tuesday night at Mission Viejo.

The victory gave the Cougars (11-0, 5-0 in league) a two-game lead over Mission Viejo (6-3, 3-2) in the league race.

But the lead appeared in danger early in the third game. Mission Viejo grabbed a 5-0 advantage, but Capistrano Valley went on a 30-4 run to win the final two games and the match.

“We were playing with too much emotion in the first two games,” Capistrano Valley Coach Ken Goldstone said. “We can’t get into an emotional battle out there. We had to concentrate on our passing, setting and serving.”

It was the serving that bailed the Cougars out of trouble.

Capistrano Valley setter Eric Olson had 31 assists and a match-high seven aces, including three in the fourth game.

“Capistrano Valley served us tough in the third and fourth games,” Mission Viejo Coach Mark Booth said. “We just turned around and didn’t pass the ball when they served us.”

After blowing the lead in the third game, Mission Viejo came unglued in the fourth.

The Diablos committed nine hitting errors, as Capistrano Valley built leads of 7-0 and 11-1.

Capistrano Valley middle blockers Scott Anderson and Brian Godshaw, both 6-foot-5 seniors, pounded Mission Viejo in the final two games.

Anderson finished with a game-high 14 kills and Godshaw added four kills and five blocks.

Anderson sparked a Capistrano Valley comeback late in the first game. The Cougars trailed, 13-12, but Mission Viejo was called for a net violation and Anderson ended the game with consecutive kills.

Mission Viejo took control of the second game behind the hitting of middle blocker David Garcia and the blocking of outside hitter Matt Levesque.

Garcia had six of his 14 kills and Levesque added three of his four blocks as the Diablos erased a 10-6 deficit to win the second game.

“They did a great job blocking in the second game,” Goldstone said. “They really put the clamps on Ryan (Benn), Vance (Hickin) and Scott (Anderson).”

Hickin had 12 kills and Benn added nine for the Cougars. Aaron Garcia had seven kills and two blocks for Mission Viejo.

In the Angelus League:

Mater Dei 3, Servite 0--Luke Halbur had 10 kills and Sean Elward had 21 assists as host Mater Dei (6-4, 3-3) won, 15-4, 15-8, 16-3.

In the Pacific Coast League:

Woodbridge 3, Tustin 0--Todd Beebe and Randy Gilbert each had eight kills for host Woodbridge (10-1, 5-0), which won, 15-3, 15-8, 15-9.

In the Sea View League:

Newport Harbor 3, Corona del Mar 1--Beau Sheward and Mark McAnlis each had 15 kills for visiting Newport Harbor (8-3, 4-1), which won, 11-15, 15-7, 15-5, 15-4.