Loyola Withstands Westlake, Gains Final

When Jimmy Killian of Los Angeles Loyola High crashed into a row of chairs while trying to reach a loose ball in the third game of the Southern Section Division I boys’ volleyball semifinals Wednesday night, it was an example of the determination and hustle he and teammates displayed from start to finish.

“You have to go for everything in this match,” said Killian, who finished with 10 kills in helping five-time champion Loyola defeat Westlake Village Westlake, 15-7, 15-12, 15-12, to advance to play San Clemente (29-1) in the Division I final at 7 p.m. Saturday at Cypress College.

Jake Schkud and Matt Hillier led the top-seeded Cubs (19-0) with 12 kills each in a match at Loyola Marymount that lasted 90 minutes. Loyola refused to let the Warriors (19-3) consider a comeback after rallying from a 12-9 deficit to win the third game.

“When you think they’ve lost momentum, they come back, and it was important to shut them down,” Killian said.

Westlake defeated Loyola in the Redondo tournament earlier this month, but that was when the Cubs were hampered by injuries. They were at their best Wednesday, relying on a two-setter attack.

Matt Schneider and Brad Bilger each had 10 kills for Westlake, which never could sustain momentum in the face of effective blocking and serving by the Cubs.

Eric Sondheimer

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Camarillo dropped its first game in a match in nearly two months but recovered to defeat Huntington Beach Ocean View in four games and advance to its first section championship match in school history.

The Scorpions’ 15-3, 15-6, 10-15, 15-9 victory at Westminster High sends them into the Division III final against San Gabriel (22-6) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Cypress College.

Camarillo (20-1) had last lost a game April 10, when it won a four-game match against Oxnard. Its only loss was in five games to Newbury Park early in the season.

Eric Vance had 20 kills and Mike Power had 12 against Ocean View (20-6), which fell behind, 11-3, in the final game.

Paul McLeod

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Mike Richards had 20 kills and seven blocks, Jordan Coon had nine kills and nine blocks and Jez Nueve had 19 digs for third-seeded Sun Valley Village Christian (16-2), which defeated Corona Santiago, 15-4, 15-12, 12-15, 5-15, 15-10, in a Division IV semifinal at Crescenta Valley High to advance to the section final for the first time since 1995.

The Crusaders will play Brentwood (17-2) at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Cypress College.

The teams traded points in the rally-scoring fifth game until Village Christian used a 5-0 run to take a 14-9 lead. Richards ended the match with his final kill two points later.

Second-seeded Santiago (18-2) was led by junior national team players Justin May, who had 24 kills and six blocks, and Tanner Sutherland, who had 15 kills and three aces.

-- Steve Galluzzo