Third-Ranked Oilers Hang On to Beat No. 2 Esperanza

Third-ranked Huntington Beach squandered a big lead in the first game and faced near-defeat in the fourth but came back to defeat second-ranked Esperanza, 14-16, 15-7, 9-15, 17-15, 15-7, in boys’ volleyball Friday at Huntington Beach.

The teams share first place in the Sunset League with 5-1 records.

Tied, 14-14, in the fourth game, Esperanza was two points from winning the match. But Huntington Beach tied it again, 15-15, and scored the next two points on Aztec errors.

Although the fourth game was close, Oiler David McKienzie wasn’t worried--the Oilers were on the side of their home court they consider lucky.

“We were on our winning side so we figured this is it,” said McKienzie, who had a team-high 26 kills.

Huntington Beach, 11-1 overall, grabbed the momentum before a crowd of about 400 and jumped to a 10-2 lead in the fifth game. Esperanza (10-2) went on a 5-0 run to come to within three points, 10-7, but that was as close as it got.

“We are not satisfied with our performance. [We] can play better than that,” said Evan Hook, who had 22 kills for the Oilers. “We can’t think, ‘Oh, we won’ and get cocky. We have to keep going 110% at practice.”

The victory provided some redemption for Huntington Beach, which lost to Esperanza in the league-opener on March 27. For several moments, Friday, it looked like there might be a replay of that earlier match.

The Oilers gave up an 11-5 lead in the first game and Esperanza came back to win it behind seven kills each from Dan Harrington and Jon Alleman. Harrington and Alleman finished the night with 26 and 23 kills, respectively.

“I think we should have won the first game, but Esperanza is a good team and if you make a couple of mistakes and leave that door open, someone’s going to come in,” said Huntington Beach Coach Rocky Ciarelli.