SOUTHERN SECTION VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIP : Esperanza Is Blocked Out by Simi Valley Royal in 3-A

It went five games, but it didn’t end the way the Esperanza volleyball team wanted it to.

Top-seeded Simi Valley Royal held off third-seeded Esperanza’s upset bid Saturday in the Southern Section 3-A championship match, winning 10-15, 15-13, 4-15, 15-11, 15-11 at Cerritos College.

Brett Osterhoudt had 33 kills, and Steve Hodge added 29 for Royal (22-0), making its fourth consecutive championship match appearance. The Highlanders won 2-A titles in 1989 and ‘90, and finished runner-up to Harvard-Westlake in 3-A last season.

Brad Goldston had 23 kills and Ryan Delaney added 21 for Esperanza (16-3), making its first championship-match appearance in the program’s four-year history.

“I think we’ve come a long way in four years,” Esperanza Coach Kurt Kersten said. “We had a letdown in the second game. But we never gave up, even in the last game.”

Esperanza trailed, 10-4, in the fifth game, but battled back to 11-7. Two blocks each by Royal setter Travis Ferguson and middle blocker Kerry White helped the Highlanders seal the victory.

“Our blocking and heart were the key in the fifth game,” Ferguson said. “I think Esperanza was a little fatigued in the fifth game. They weren’t hitting the ball as hard.”

Esperanza setter Chris Pitzak suffered stomach cramps from the third game on. But Kersten said fatigue wasn’t much of a factor.

“We haven’t played many five-game matches this season,” he said. “But I don’t think Royal has for that matter.’

Esperanza built an 11-3 lead in the first game, but Royal capitalized on five Aztec errors and two kills by Josh Penrod to cut it to 14-10. The Aztecs won the game on a hitting error by Osterhoudt.

Osterhoudt delivered in the clutch in the second game. His kill gave Royal a 14-10 lead, and Kerry White ended the game by blocking Pitzak.

Esperanza dominated the third game, with Goldston pounding four kills and Paul Nihipali three. Chris Hillman came off the bench with two aces as the Aztecs closed the game with a 10-1 run.

In the fourth game, Esperanza came back to tie it, 9-9, after trailing, 8-1. But Osterhoudt had an ace and a kill as Royal scored six of the final eight points to force a fifth game.