St. Margaret’s Survives Five-Game Thriller

Top-seeded St. Margaret’s flirted with disaster Tuesday night, and after blowing a two-games-to-none lead, the Tartans rallied in the fifth game to beat fourth-seeded Santa Barbara Bishop Diego, 15-9, 15-11, 13-15, 13-15, 15-13 in a Southern Section Division V boys’ volleyball semifinal match at Laguna Beach High.

The Tartans (17-1) led, 9-3, in the final game, but the Cardinals (18-3) went on a 10-2 run to go ahead, 13-11. However, St. Margaret’s responded by scoring the game’s final four points, capped by Jesse Clanton’s kill on the first match point.

“I think we came into the match more prepared than they did,” St. Margaret’s Coach Susie Maga said. “A couple of things didn’t go our way and that’s why it went five games.”

Despite losing the first two games, the Cardinals refused to give in. They opened up a 5-2 lead in the third game and eventually won, 15-13.

The Tartans had a chance to close the match out in the fourth game, leading 13-10, but Bishop Diego scored five consecutive points, sparked by 6-foot-11 middle blocker Nicholas Scheftic, to force a fifth game.

Abe Marouf had 29 kills and 18 blocks, and Jesse Clanton added 23 kills for the Tartans, who advanced to the finals Saturday at Cypress College to play Montebello Cantwell Sacred Heart.