Marina Eases Past Huntington Beach

Neither Marina, the top-ranked boys’ volleyball team in Orange County, nor unranked Huntington Beach looked particularly sharp or inspired in Wednesday’s Sunset League match at Marina High.

The result was a somewhat sloppy victory for Marina, although the Vikings gladly took the 15-7, 15-10, 15-10 victory to improve to 14-1 and 9-0 in league.

“We want to finish 10-0 in league,” said Marina senior Jeff Wootton, who had 18 kills and four blocks. “We’ve never done that.”

Wootton and teammate Rob Kijewski, who had 21 kills, have been integral parts of the Vikings’ three consecutive league championships. Marina clinched the third outright with Tuesday’s victory over Esperanza, so perhaps a letdown could have been expected.

Although Marina was not at its best Wednesday, the Vikings still had too many weapons for Huntington Beach (8-9, 5-4).

Junior Steffin Rangel had seven kills and 10 blocks, sophomore Andrew Wilson added 11 kills from the opposite slot Kijewski normally plays, and setter Beau Peters had 58 assists Wednesday for the Vikings, who continue to fine-tune for the playoffs, which begin next week.

“It’s nice to have the athletes to do that and try different lineups and things,” Marina Coach Darrick Lucero said. “We’re improving, but we have a ways to go.”

Huntington Beach (8-10, 5-4) didn’t play like a team headed for the playoffs Wednesday, but the Oilers could still tie for second in league with a victory tonight over Edison.

Matt Wendt had 13 kills and Aaron Gale added 10 to lead Huntington Beach, which fought off six match points before it finally ended on Gale’s hitting error, the Oilers’ 10th of the game.