Ciarelli, Carlson win silver

Tony Ciarelli and Jeff Carlson captured the silver medal in the SWATCH Federation Internationale de Volleyball Youth World Championships in Hague, Netherlands on Sunday.

Ciarelli and Carlson, who graduated in June from Huntington Beach and Corona del Mar highs, respectively, reached the final of the division for players under 19 in the beach volleyball tournament. The duo was the No. 19 seed in the event.

Ciarelli and Carlson lost to Estonia’s Kristo Kollo and Oliver Venno, 21-17, 21-16 in the championship match. Carlson and Ciarelli started playing together just a month ago. They ended the tournament with an 8-2 record, with their only other loss coming to fellow Americans Maddison McKibben and Will Montgomery during pool play of the main draw.

Both Ciarelli and Carlson will enter their freshman seasons at USC later this month.

In early July, Ciarelli helped lead the Balboa Bay Volleyball Club’s 18 Quiksilver team to an 11-0 record to win the gold medal in the boys’ 18-and-under open division at the USA Junior Olympic Volleyball Championships in Sandy, Utah.

? Junior Olympics Water Polo

Huntington Beach Water Polo Club teams swam to success last weekend at the National Junior Olympics in Orange County.

The tournament was at several pool sites in the county, including the Woollett Aquatics Center in Irvine.

Huntington’s 10-and-Under coed team won silver, its 12-and-Under boys placed fifth, the 14-and-Under girls were 15th and the 14-and-Under boys finished ninth.

10-and-Under Coed

Huntington’s coed team captured the silver medal by finishing second in a 20-team field.

This year marked the first time that USA Water Polo, whose headquarters are in Huntington Beach, has included a 10-and-Under Coed Division at the National Junior Olympics.

Coached by John Filipponi and assistant Christina Wensman, the team played several tough opponents over a four-day period. Huntington was second to gold medalist San Diego Shores.

“The biggest difference that was seen in this tournament was the kid’s ability to focus on their game responsibilities and play as a team,” Filipponi said. “Team work was the biggest factor that carried our team to the second-place finish.”

Huntington scored victories over club teams from Las Vegas (10-3), Laguna Beach (7-6), Santa Barbara (16-10), United (8-7), North Irvine (16-4), Foothill (17-7) and Los Angeles (15-9).

12-and-Under Boys

Huntington, under the guidance of head coach Eric Markle and assistants Filipponi, Vicky Barker and Jans Baltgalvis, earned a fifth-place finish among 48 teams.

14-and-Under Girls

Competing in a field that included 37 teams, Huntington defeated Los Angeles to claim 15th place. The team is coached by Uros Dzelebdzic, with assistance from Filipponi and Barker.

14-and-Under Boys

Huntington posted an 8-1-1 record to come in ninth among 48 teams. The team is coached by Filipponi and Dzelebdzic and assisted by Barker.

Fall season looms

Filipponi said that Huntington Beach Water Polo Club will be merging with Golden West Water Polo Club this summer. The club fall session begins Sept. 8 at the Golden West College pool. For more information on the fall session, visit www.hbwaterpolo.com.