PREP VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP : El Toro Rallies Past San Clemente

El Toro, ranked No. 1 in Orange County, rallied to post a five-game victory over fourth-ranked San Clemente in a South Coast League boys’ volleyball match Friday at San Clemente.

After the Tritons put themselves on the verge of an upset with a convincing 15-1 victory in Game 3, El Toro’s bench sparked the Chargers to a 14-16, 16-14, 1-15, 15-13, 15-9 victory.

“San Clemente outplayed us for 80% of the match,” El Toro Coach Mike Jagd said. “But we got lucky at a few critical times.”

Although his top player, Ryan Mariano, had 30 kills, Jagd needed reserves Steve Hilbert and Steve Nelson to spark the Chargers (7-1, 4-0 in league).

Nelson filled in for starting setter Todd Steinert, who had 74 assists, during Game 4 and helped El Toro re-establish its middle attack. Hilbert had 11 kills in Games 4 and 5 when Mariano went cold.

Still, San Clemente (7-1, 3-1) had its chances.

In Game 5, Corin Bemus spiked to draw the Tritons within three, 11-8, and Brandon Taliaferro added another from the back row to make it 11-9. But El Toro shut out San Clemente the rest of the way.

“Our camaraderie slipped a bit,” San Clemente Coach Mike Hurlbut said, “and you need that late in Game 5. But I asked the kids if they left every ounce of physical energy on the court and they answered yes.”

Gabe Gardner led the Tritons with 24 kills and Bemus added 16. Taliaferro had 65 assists and six blocks and Eric Krogh had 14 kills and six blocks. Four of Krogh’s blocks came in the lopsided Game 3 victory.

“This league is tough as nails,” Hurlbut said. “That’s the good thing and the bad thing about this league. But we have a long season to go, and I know we can still play better.”

El Toro’s Doug Thompson had 15 kills and Chris Jacobson had 10 kills and five blocks, including two in Game 5.

In Game 5, Jacobson blocked Phinney Gardner’s spike attempt to push El Toro’s lead to 13-9. Then after a San Clemente hitting error, Steinert blocked Alan Duke on match point.

In other South Coast matches:

Dana Hills 3, Capistrano Valley 1--Bob Hefty had 24 kills for visiting Dana Hills (6-2, 3-1) which won, 15-13, 15-13, 12-15, 15-13.

Mater Dei 3, Mission Viejo 1--Pat Chamberlain had 13 kills and 13 blocks for Mater Dei (2-7, 1-3) which won, 12-15, 16-14, 15-9, 15-12.

In the Empire League:

Esperanza 3, Los Alamitos 0--Mike Allison had 16 kills for Esperanza (8-2, 4-0) which won, 15-1, 15-10, 15-10. Los Alamitos is 3-4, 3-1.

Western 3, El Dorado 2--Eric Temple had 36 kills and Eric Townsend had 66 assists for Western (7-4, 2-2) which won, 8-15, 2-15, 15-13, 15-6, 15-6.

In the Garden Grove League:

Los Amigos 3, Rancho Alamitos 0--Kiet Tran had 23 kills for Los Amigos (11-2, 6-1) which won, 15-0, 15-3, 11-15, 16-14.

In the Sea View League;

Corona del Mar 3, Tustin 2--Curtis Jackson and Josh Rasmussen had 23 kills each for host Tustin (6-4, 5-3), which lost, 7-15, 15-5, 15-17, 15-13, 15-10. Corona del Mar is 8-2, 6-2.

Newport Harbor 3, Woodbridge 0--Mitch McCoy had 25 kills for host Newport Harbor (9-2, 8-0), which won, 15-9, 15-11, 15-10.

In the Sunset League:

Huntington Beach 3, Westminster 0--Huntington Beach (9-1, 8-0) won its 50th consecutive league match, 15-9, 15-4, 15-4.