Foothill Beats Calvary Chapel for a Title Worth Savoring

The Foothill boys’ volleyball team uprooted a prestigious opponent and planted its feet firmly in school history with a 15-12, 7-15, 15-11, 15-9 victory over Calvary Chapel in the Southern Section Division II final Saturday at Cypress College.

It was Foothill’s first Southern Section title in boys’ volleyball and the school’s first appearance in a boys’ volleyball final. Afterward, Ryan Ellis, who led the Knights with 17 kills, had difficulty finding words to describe his feelings.

“Excellent, amazing, high. It’s just, oh man,” Ellis said.

Tied, 9-9, in the fourth game, Ellis had two kills to spark Foothill on a 5-0 run.

Calvary Chapel saved two match point attempts before Stewart Lambourne and Mike Major combined to block Calvary Chapel’s Jason Mandall for the victory in front of a crowd of about 1,200.

The Knights’ playing experience--all but one player on their roster is a senior--showed in the final.

“You couldn’t be any more blessed than to have a team full of seniors who know what they want off the bat,” said Pat Manning, Foothill’s first-year coach.

The Knights might have known what they wanted, but it took a while to get there--Calvary Chapel defeated Foothill in the early season Orange County Championships. By the time the section final rolled around, Foothill had vastly improved.

The fourth-seeded Knights (16-1), who upset top-seeded Downey Warren in the semifinals, stunned the Eagles in the first game, taking an 8-2 lead.

Third-seeded Calvary Chapel came back to tie it, 11-11, and took a one-point lead on a Knight hitting error.

Ellis had a kill to get the ball back and the Knights scored two points on a block by Lambourne and Lanny Rudner and a kill by Nick Sveslosky.

The Eagles got two more sideouts but squandered each opportunity with serving errors. The Eagles were called for a net violation to bring up game point, which Lambourne won with a kill.

“The first game really sets the tone for the rest of the match,” Mandall said.

Calvary Chapel won the second game fairly easily but Foothill jumped to a 7-1 lead in the third. The Eagles battled back to cut the lead to 10-9, but were stopped there. Foothill scored three consecutive points on a kill by Rudner and two by Ellis.

Sveslosky sent a kill through the hands of Mandall and Lewis to bring up game point, which Mandall saved with a kill.

Mandall had a block for a point and Lewis served an ace before Foothill had another side out and Major won the game by tapping the ball around the block of Nate Morton and Kevin Rausch.

“They played error-free. They were confident and aggressive,” Calvary Chapel Coach Chuck Wright said.

It was Calvary Chapel’s fifth appearance in a final in the past six years. The Eagles won the Division III title in 1994 and the Division II title last year.

The Eagles (16-3) fared better than many expected this season considering they lost four senior starters to graduation after last season. Much of the reason for their success was Mandall.

Mandall had a match-high 25 kills, including nine in the fourth game.

“I think this year’s team is so much closer, we’re all friends,” Mandall said. “It was almost easier this year to come together as a team.”

For Foothill, next year holds the task of rebuilding almost its entire team. But that is something to think about another day. Now, it’s time to savor a title.

“It feels tremendous,” Manning said. “It has been like a blur.”