PREP ROUNDUP : Huntington Beach Balance Yields Volleyball Victory

Huntington Beach’s volleyball team won the Sunset League title last season by building its offense around Matt Taylor, Orange County’s player of the year.

Although Taylor has graduated, the Oilers have continued their winning ways, but with a new look and approach.

Troy Wooten had 22 kills to lead four Oilers in double figures as Huntington Beach, ranked sixth in the county, rallied to beat fifth-ranked Edison, 3-15, 16-14, 11-15, 15-6, 15-3, Wednesday night at Huntington Beach.

Jeff Vanderwal had 19 kills, and Claud Doumerc and Shadd Walker added 18 apiece for the Oilers (9-1, 6-0). Doumerc added five blocks for Huntington Beach, which extended its winning streak to seven matches.

“We move the ball around this year and that makes us tough,” Huntington Beach Coach Rocky Ciarelli said. “Last year we ran a one-man game, this year we’re running a six-man game.”

Huntington Beach’s balance offset Edison’s two-man attack of Joe McCarthy and Josh Snyder. McCarthy had a match-high 28 kills and Snyder added 18 for the Chargers (5-3, 5-1).

The Oilers trailed, 14-9, in the second game, but fought off two match points to come back for a 14-14 tie. The Oilers scored the winning points on hitting errors by McCarthy and Randy Cancellieri.

After losing the third game, Huntington Beach took control in the fourth behind the play of Walker, who had six kills, two blocks and an ace.

Vanderwal had three kills and two blocks in the fifth game as Edison was unable to control the middle of Huntington Beach’s attack.

“One of the keys was that we started passing the ball better in the last two games and we could run our offense,” Ciarelli said. “In the first three games, it seemed the only time we could score was when Edison made a mistake.”