Royal Out-and-Out Marmonte Champion

Get out.

The Royal High boys’ volleyball team, which began its Marmonte League match at Thousand Oaks with one middle blocker hobbling and finished with another on the shelf, knew exactly where to go.

Outside.

The Highlanders defeated Thousand Oaks, 15-9, 11-15, 15-9, 15-7, and captured their seventh Marmonte League title in a row thanks to their outside hitters.

Jim Bonelli had 24 kills, and Marc Chaffee and Kevin Schommer each had 22 for Royal (15-1, 14-0 in league play), the fourth-ranked team in Southern Section Division I.

“The outside boys were awfully powerful,” Royal Coach Bob Ferguson said. “Jimmy was just banging balls big time.”

Royal middle blocker Joe Olsen dominated the teams’ first meeting on March 29 with a career-high 27 kills as Royal won in four games.

But Olsen, who was playing in his second match since suffering a sprained left ankle and missing four matches, gave way somewhat to the outside attack on Friday.

Olsen still had 19 kills for the Highlanders, who suffered another setback to their middle attack when blocker Ryan Denihan suffered a sprained left ankle in the first game and did not return.

Royal, however, recovered and took the first game.

The lengthy second game, which featured 56 sideouts, went to ninth-ranked Thousand Oaks (12-2, 12-2).

The Lancers changed up their blocking scheme and confused Royal.

Five kills from David Grimm also helped as Royal lost a game in a Marmonte League match for only the third time in seven years.

But the third and fourth games, as well as the night, belonged to Royal.

The Highlanders went back to their outside.

Bonelli, Chaffee and Schommer combined for six kills near the end of the third game to give Royal a 2-1 lead.

Not surprisingly, the match ended on a kill by Bonelli.

Royal setter John Baxter had 93 assists, tying the school record for assists in a match.

The loss almost outweighed what had otherwise been an eventful day for Grimm, who passed on a scholarship offer from La Verne and committed instead to USC.

“We just couldn’t put it together,” said Grimm, who finished with 16 kills. “We now have to focus on the [playoffs].”