Mater Dei Fails to Get Passing Grade on Final

Unfortunately for third-seeded Mater Dei, Saturday’s Southern Section Division II boys’ volleyball championship match at Cypress College ended just like it started.

Mater Dei began sluggishly, committing 12 hitting errors in the opening game against unseeded Cerritos Gahr. Then after the Monarchs clawed their way back to take a two-games-to-one lead and apparent control, Gahr came roaring back for a 15-10, 13-15, 6-15, 15-7, 15-7 victory.

Senior Jason Kwak had seven of his 29 kills in the fifth game to cap the comeback for Gahr, which took advantage of some sloppy passing by Mater Dei to score five consecutive points and take a 13-4 lead before closing it out.

Mater Dei (12-5) tried to hang tough, fighting off four match points before Edmund Enwia’s spike from the back row fell and sparked the Gladiators’ celebration.

To reach the final, Gahr (29-5) defeated fourth-seeded Redondo Union in the quarterfinals, then followed it with a victory over top-seeded Santa Barbara in the semifinals.

“I’m speechless,” Gahr Coach Jeff Kruze said. “I believed in these kids all along. Mater Dei was definitely the best team we’ve played but our guys stepped up at the right time.”

The Gladiators got plenty of balance with setter Trevor Johnson, who had 76 assists, spreading it around. Middle blockers Freddie Davis, who had 19 kills, and Larry Walker, who had 16, kept Mater Dei from loading up on Kwak.

Mater Dei’s Brian Costanzo, who had six blocks and 15 digs, tallied eight of his 22 kills in Game 2 to help the Monarchs even the match. Then Joe Groff had five of his 13 in the third game to put the Monarchs within one game of the title.

“They had our number in the second and third games,” Kruze said.

But the Monarchs couldn’t close it out.

“Maybe they just wanted it more,” Costanzo said. “I don’t know if we were out of gas or what. But we were looking for someone else to take charge and each of us needed to step it up.”

Said Mater Dei Coach Tom Costanzo, Brian’s father: “We were a half step off the whole night.”

When the Monarchs’ passing was good, they effectively ran the middle with Felix Inga, who had 19 kills, keeping the Gladiators honest. But when they didn’t pass well, it made it that much tougher on setter Mike Gazzano, who finished with 63 assists and four blocks.

Mater Dei struggled with its passing in the fourth game and Gahr gained some confidence with a few key blocks. And Mater Dei’s passing broke down at key times during the match, the most glaring instances coming in the fifth game.

Although senior Brandt Wicke, who had been playing well in the playoffs, finished with only five kills, the Monarchs were still in control of the match heading into Game 4. They even got a boost off the bench from Michael Fipp, who had nine kills.

But after the Monarchs took a 6-5 lead in Game 4, the Gladiators closed it out, scoring 10 of the last 11 points. Kwak served for the final six points, which came off six Mater Dei hitting errors. Then Gahr never relinquished the momentum.

Said Gazzano: “We just beat ourselves.”