SOUTHERN SECTION 4-A VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS : Finishing Touch Helps Marina Gain a Sweep

After blowing two-game leads in three matches this season, the Marina High School volleyball team wasn’t about to let another one slip away Friday night in the first round of the Southern Section 4-A playoffs.

Outside hitter Dennis Winners had 16 kills, and middle blockers John Mull and Brant Shelor added 12 each as the Vikings swept Laguna Beach, 15-10, 15-10, 15-11, at Laguna Beach.

The Vikings (12-5) advanced to Tuesday night’s second round against University. Laguna Beach ended the season 14-5.

The sweep was a relief to Marina Coach John Burns, who worried about his team’s tough first-round draw.

His reasons: Laguna Beach pushed Marina to five games before losing in a regular-season match, and the Vikings had dropped two five-game matches to Huntington Beach and one to Edison after holding two-game leads.

“I was tired of five-game matches,” Burns said. “This (sweep) is much better.”

After losing the first two games, Laguna Beach held leads of 7-3 and 10-8 in the third game. But an ace by Marina setter Greg Gratteau started a 5-0 run that put Marina ahead for good.

“Greg’s jump serves really got us going,” Burns said.

Gratteau, 6-feet-4, also had 37 assists and six kills for Marina.

“They have a great setter,” Laguna Beach Coach Mike Soylular said. “He was the player of the game. And they have a great middle attack.”

Shelor and Mull, both 6-5, dominated Laguna’s small lineup. Marina had 14 blocks in the match, including six by Shelor and five by Scott Anderson.

“We knew coming in that Laguna wasn’t very big,” Burns said. “We just had to pass the ball well and keep running the middle.”

Shelor and Winners each had four kills in the first game as Marina pulled away from a 9-9 tie with a 6-1 run.

Mull and Winners took over in the second game with six kills each. Marina raced to a 10-3 lead and held off a Laguna Beach comeback.

Marina played without starting outside hitter Phoung Vu, who had missed practice Thursday. Mike Darling, Vu’s replacement, had six kills.

“Darling came in and did a great job for us,” Burns said. “He passed the ball really well.”

Laguna Beach was led by juniors Chris Seale and Eric Fegraus. Seale had 28 kills and Fegraus added 15.

“Laguna played well,” Burns said. “They’re scrappy players and they side out a lot with us. But we just hung in there and waited for our opportunities.

“The key for us was our passing. We have a good enough setter in Gratteau that once we got the ball to him, he could create a lot of one-on-one situations at the net for us.”

In other Division 4-A matches:

Capistrano Valley 3, Laguna Hills 0--Ryan Benn had seven kills for host Capistrano Valley (16-1), which won, 15-3, 15-1, 15-3.

Huntington Beach 3, Mater Dei 0--Matt Taylor had 12 kills, and Andy Kijewski and Adam Bowermaster each added seven in the 15-6, 15-3, 15-0 victory.

Irvine 3, Trabuco Hills 1--Brian Boothroyd had 23 kills and Brian Trout added 14 kills and 11 blocks as Irvine won, 15-12, 15-11, 11-15, 15-6.

Newport Harbor 3, Glendale Hoover 0--Mark McAnlis had 13 kills for Newport Harbor (14-3), which won, 15-8, 15-7, 15-12.

Woodbridge 3, Santa Margarita 0--Todd Beebe and Randy Gilbert each had eight kills, and Krister Olsson had six kills as host Woodbridge (14-4) won, 15-7, 15-13, 15-7.

University 3, Dana Hills 0--Zolti Csanyi had 20 kills and 23 assists as visiting University won, 17-15, 15-10, 15-11.