VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP : No. 4 Huntington Beach Picks Up an Easy Victory Against Edison

Huntington Beach, the fourth-ranked boys’ volleyball team in Orange County, showcased its depth and defense during an easy 15-6, 15-7, 15-11, Sunset League victory over Edison Wednesday at Huntington Beach High.

Oiler Coach Rocky Ciarelli used 12 players and Huntington Beach showed no ill effects from the frequent substitutions.

“Come playoff time, our depth could be a big advantage,” Ciarelli said. “In CIF, if you’re a little off and your opponent is on, you’re out. Anyone can have an off-night, so hopefully our depth will help us through the tough matches.”

Jonathan Wimbish had 15 kills and Mike Grave added 10 for Huntington Beach (11-0, 9-0 in league), which passed effectively and had no problems siding out during the match.

“Defense has been our strength, but we’ve got to work on scoring,” Ciarelli said. “We missed on some easy scoring opportunities.”

But it wasn’t a factor Wednesday as Huntington Beach never trailed by more than two points in any of the games.

Trailing 4-3 in Game 1, Huntington Beach’s Nick Ziegler scored on a spike, then two Edison errors gave the Oilers a 6-4 lead. Huntington Beach outscored Edison 9-2 to close out the game.

Wimbish had five kills in Game 2, and teammate Steve Tsoneff had two kills and a block during the key run where the Oilers outscored Edison, 11-0, to take a 14-5 lead. Ziegler closed out the game with a kill from the back row.

Robert Ruiz’s kill capped an Edison rally which erased a four-point deficit and drew the Chargers even, 11-11, in Game 3.

But after a Huntington Beach timeout, Grave spiked for a side out, and the Oilers never let the Chargers score again.

Ben Beard led Edison with 11 kills and Clark Hahne added 10.