Irvine Beats San Clemente to Win O.C. Volleyball Title

Irvine, ranked third in Orange County, rode out San Clemente’s hot streak and defeated the top-ranked Tritons, 15-12, 4-15, 15-12, in the Division I final of the Orange County Championships boys’ volleyball tournament Monday at Marina High.

Tournament most valuable player Kris Kraushaar, a 6-foot-6 junior, had six of his 12 kills in the final game to help Irvine take an 11-2 lead before the Vaqueros finally closed it out. It is the first time Irvine has won the tournament.

“I don’t think we’ve ever been to the semis in this tournament until this year,” Irvine Coach Mark Mednick said. “I’m sure the kids will have a little bounce in their step at school. But I hope we can just build on this and continue to improve.”

San Clemente’s Gray Garrett, who has signed with UCLA, had 19 kills and Nick Gardner added 16 for the Tritons, who came back after losing the first game to score 12 consecutive points to close out the second game, forcing a third.

But B.J. Fell (13 kills), an all-tournament selection, and Jesse Waldowski (10 kills, four blocks) helped Irvine take control in the third game.

“We still hung in there and tried to come back,” San Clemente Coach Ken Goldstone said. “We weren’t as sharp as we were Saturday and you can’t make mistakes against a good team like Irvine.

“We struggled a bit tonight, but I guess it’s better to have these problems now instead of later in the year.”

Although middle blocker Brian George had 15 kills and earned all-tournament honors with Garrett, and San Clemente setter Dan Talcott had 49 assists, the Tritons were still inconsistent. San Clemente had 16 hitting errors in Games 1 and 3.

But the Tritons only have to look to last year’s Orange County Championships for comfort. Santa Margarita defeated Newport Harbor in the 1999 final, but the Sailors went on to win the Southern Section Division I title.

In the Division II final:

Woodbridge wins--Tournament MVP Jason Liljestrom had 32 assists to lead the Warriors past Arcadia, 15-9, 9-15, 15-6. Scott Sebek and Casey Armstrong each had nine kills for Woodbridge, to give the Sea View League a sweep of the championships.

It was the third tournament championship for eighth-ranked Woodbridge, which also won the University and Foothill tournaments earlier this season.