Servite Puts Up Fight but Bows to Hard-Hitting Redondo

There were no excuses by the Servite volleyball team.

No cliches about not coming ready to play or a lack of focus on the court.

The Friars looked up at the scoreboard after their 15-10, 15-12, 15-7 loss to Redondo Beach Redondo Union in the semifinals of the Southern Section Division II boys’ volleyball playoffs Wednesday at Manhattan Beach Mira Costa High, then glanced across the net at the team that beat them and offered one explanation.

“That was a great team,” Servite Coach Ed Cunningham said. “There is no shame in losing to them. Losing to a great team is never embarrassing.”

The loss ends Servite’s best season. The Friars (22-3) had not advanced to the semifinals before this year.

Redondo Union moves on to play Santa Barbara San Marcos at 4 p.m. Saturday at Cypress College.

The top-seeded Seahawks (25-3) had too many weapons for the Friars. Steve Huante and Aaron Wachtfogel, a pair of senior outside hitters, dominated at the net, with 18 and 17 kills, respectively.

Middle blocker Jesse Webster was also a force with 15 kills.

It was a frustrating glance at the stat sheet for Cunningham, who said the game plan was centered around stopping Huante and Wachtfogel.

“We couldn’t stop their hitters,” Cunningham said. “No matter how much we practiced we couldn’t stop them.”

The Friars did not go away easily, however.

In the pivotal second game, Redondo Union jumped out to an 8-2 lead, but Servite middle blocker Jordan O’Brien had three blocks that fell for points in a 7-1 Servite run that tied the score at 9-9.

But with a gymnasium packed with rowdy fans backing the host Seahawks, Redondo Union picked up the defense with several rally-saving digs and went up, 14-9.

Wachtfogel missed two kill attempts that gave Servite points and pulled the Friars to within 14-12, but Servite’s Dan Taylor missed wide on an attempt down the line for the game-winner for Redondo Union.

“It was very important for us to win that game,” said Redondo Union Coach Tom Chaffins. “We thought we were playing better and didn’t want to go 1-1. After an hour and 20 minutes we didn’t want to look up and see a tie.”

With a 2-0 lead, Redondo knew how to finish. Again, it wasn’t easy.

Kyle Smith and Eric Barnes, who had 15 kills each for the Friars, helped Servite to a 7-7 tie before the Seahawks ran off five consecutive points on Wachtfogel’s serve. That run included several hitting errors by the Friars and a few strong defensive plays by Redondo Union, including two by Wachtfogel, who seemed to instinctively stick his arms out where a Friar kill attempt was headed.

“They got some of the luck,” Cunningham said. “And when you have the luck and the skill, it’s a hard combination to beat.”

In Division III:

Laguna Beach 3, Santa Monica St. Monica 0--Miles McGann had 20 kills for the second-seeded Artists, who won, 18-16, 15-3, 15-2, at Estancia High.

Dan Olney had eight blocks and Adam Snow had seven kills for Laguna Beach (14-9). The Artists advanced to play top-seeded Santa Ynez, which defeated Calvary Chapel, 15-2, 15-7, 15-10, in the 1 p.m. final Saturday at Cypress College. Laguna Beach defeated Santa Ynez in four games in the season opener.