PREP VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP : Momentum Swings Finally Wind Up in Irvine’s Favor

Irvine’s volleyball team appeared to have everything under control Friday night, leading Esperanza, 13-9, in the third game and on the verge of a sweep.

But the next thing the Vaqueros knew, they were trailing, 9-0, in the fourth game.

After all the crazy momentum swings were finished, Irvine, ranked second in Orange County, had rallied for a 15-12, 15-3, 15-17, 15-12 victory over the ninth-ranked Aztecs at Esperanza.

Chris Swanner had 22 kills, and Greg Wakeham added 16 to lead the Vaqueros (6-0).

Irvine got a big boost down the stretch from Brady Hamilton, who scored four of Irvine’s final seven points with three kills and a block.

Hamilton also had three aces, and his powerful jump serve caused Esperanza problems.

“Brady has his confidence back,” Irvine Coach Mark Mednick said. “Ever since he missed a match point (against Edison) in the Orange County Championships, he has come back and played with confidence.”

As it turned out, the Vaqueros needed all the confidence they could find. Irvine needed only two points to win the third game and end the match, but the Vaqueros committed four errors as Esperanza rallied for the 17-15 victory.

“I tried to stress to the guys that the third game was just one game, and we could come back,” Mednick said. “But we came out flat in the fourth game, and Esperanza was all pumped up.”

Esperanza raced to a 9-0 lead behind the play of Brad Goldston (two kills and a block) and Paul Nihipali (one kill and a block).

But Irvine, which had been struggling with Esperanza’s serving, began passing better. Swanner, who had been shut down since midway through the third game, came to life with two kills.

Then Hamilton took over, tying it, 12-12, with a kill and later scoring the match point with another kill. Irvine scored the final six points.

Esperanza Coach Kurt Kersten said the Aztecs (4-2) never got their offense going.

“We just weren’t clicking tonight,” he said. “We weren’t digging the ball, and we weren’t doing anything special to deserve to win. Irvine played really well.”

Goldston had 13 kills, and setter Chris Pitzak had eight kills and 60 assists for Esperanza. Nihipali added 11 kills and eight blocks for the Aztecs.

In another nonleague boys’ volleyball match:

Western 3, Artesia 2--Chris Jackson had 20 kills, Eric Temple 15 and Mike Shireran 14 as the host Pioneers (1-2) rallied from a 2-1 deficit to win their first match of the season, 16-14, 11-15, 11-15, 15-10, 15-4.

In Garden Grove League boys’ volleyball:

Kennedy 3, Bolsa Grande 0--Doug Cacioppo and Jason Gomez each had 10 kills as the visiting Fighting Irish won, 15-12, 15-12, 15-13.

La Quinta 3, Rancho Alamitos 1--Kevin Doone had 10 kills as the visiting Aztecs won, 15-8, 15-8, 14-16, 15-8. Teofil Tifrea had 15 for the Vaqueros.

Pacifica 3, Santiago 1--Jim Green had 19 kills and Eric Huhta 15 for the host Mariners (4-3, 2-2), who won, 5-15, 15-13, 15-11, 15-8.