SOUTHERN SECTION VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFF QUARTERFINALS : Warren Low-Balls Highland

Ryan Millar of Highland High met his match. And as a result, the Bulldogs lost their match.

An All-American middle blocker, Millar found himself going kill for kill with Robert Tauler of Warren.

Millar won that category, 35-28.

But Tauler, nearly a foot shorter at 5 feet 10, captured the statistic that counted: a victory.

Warren shocked Highland with a 15-13, 3-15, 15-11, 5-15, 15-12 upset in the Southern Section Division II quarterfinals Friday night at Warren.

Both players were fighting their bodies as well as their opponent.

Millar had a 102-degree fever and didn’t practice Thursday.

Tauler practiced Thursday, but not for long. He stepped on a ball and sprained his left ankle. He threw down his crutches just long enough to play Friday.

“That guy’s a man,” Highland Coach Mike Bird said, pointing to Tauler. “He’s an absolute stud.”

Tauler may have found a wonder drug.

“Adrenaline,” Tauler said with a smile moments after his Bears (16-1) finished off Highland (18-1). “I was on crutches all day, but I didn’t want to let the team down.”

The only team he let down was second-seeded Highland, which won the one-sided second and fourth games, but lost the close ones.

“We just couldn’t get any rhythm the whole match,” Bird said.

Unfortunately for Highland, the fifth-game tempo belonged to Warren.

The Bears, co-champions of the San Gabriel Valley League, turned a 9-7 deficit into a 12-9 lead. Not surprisingly, Tauler had four kills during the run.

Highland battled back to a 12-12 tie, but fatigue may have caught up then, as Warren reeled off the final three points.

“Man, I was tired,” said Millar, who had an eye-popping 135 kill attempts.

Tauler was equally exhausted, but he didn’t feel it.

“I feel great right now,” said Tauler, who broke the school record for kills. “I was about 80% when the match started, but now I feel 95%.”

Warren Coach Chris Hyatt’s post-match summary was nearly 100% accurate.

“We could probably play Highland five times and they’d win four times,” Hyatt said. “But we won the one that counted.”

Hurt by passing all night long, Highland won’t have a chance to reach the title game for the second year in a row.

*

Santa Barbara d. Royal, 13-15, 15-10, 3-15, 15-12, 15-13--Eric Carlsen had 27 kills and 12 blocks as the Highlanders (16-3) lost their quarterfinal match.

Campbell Hall d. Bishop Montgomery, 15-9, 15-12, 11-15, 15-9--Outside hitter Eric Hassan and middle blocker Dylan Herrick controlled the net as Campbell Hall (16-3) advanced to the Division III semifinals for the first time since 1989.

Village Christian d. Bosco Tech, 15-5, 15-8, 15-5--Kiko Banos had 15 kills and 11 digs as the Crusaders (19-0) reached the Division III semifinals for the first time.