PREP ROUNDUP : Fountain Valley Outworks Huntington Beach

Fountain Valley can only hope it has a little something left for Edison.

Faced with a key Sunset League match against Huntington Beach on Tuesday night, the Baron girls’ volleyball team searched for a way to upend the Oilers.

The answer, and the 15-5, 11-15, 15-0, 3-15, 15-11 Fountain Valley victory, was closer than anyone thought.

“These girls played with a ton of heart,” Fountain Valley Coach Mike Hinton said.

In a match that added confusion to an already muddled league race, Fountain Valley’s victory set up Thursday’s showdown between the Barons and Edison. Unranked Fountain Valley (12-2, 10-1) has the upper hand as eighth-ranked Edison (10-3, 9-2) and seventh-ranked Huntington Beach (10-5, 9-2) have lost twice--Edison’s losses were to the Oilers; Huntington Beach lost twice to the Barons.

If Fountain Valley, whose only loss is to Edison, defeats the Chargers, it would ensure itself the league championship, while a loss could create a three-way tie.

Said outside hitter Kristin Moro, who had 22 kills: “Everything depended on this. We were completely focused.”

To Huntington Beach’s credit, the Oilers fought back in Game 4 to force the deciding game, where Fountain Valley took a 12-6 lead. The Oilers pulled to 13-11, then the Barons closed it out on a Moro kill and a serve return that fell long.

For Huntington Beach, Melissa Wendt had 22 kills and 11 blocks. Fountain Valley’s Gina Ybarra had 18 kills and 13 service points.