Edison boys’ volleyball loses lead, suffers ‘heartbreaking’ loss to Aliso Niguel
A stacked Sunset Conference appeared to have provided the preparation the Edison High School boys’ volleyball team needed to charge through its postseason bracket.
An hour into its quarterfinal match at home Wednesday, Edison looked the part. The Chargers had two sets in their pocket, and they were swiftly advancing toward the finish line.
Two match points went by the wayside, and Edison suffered a devastating defeat to fourth-seeded Aliso Niguel, which rallied for a 19-25, 19-25, 26-24, 25-22, 15-10 win to earn a spot in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 semifinals.
Freshman outside hitter Ty Carson had 23 kills for Aliso Niguel (18-10), which will play host to top-seeded Upland (35-3) on Saturday. Simi Valley Royal will play at Santa Barbara Laguna Blanca in the other semifinal.
“The more fans, the better,” Carson said of the well-traveled Aliso Niguel contingent. “I like the crowd and all the talking. It just pumps you up inside. I feel like our team was a little bit down in the very beginning, and we just [turned] it back up with our fans cheering for us. I thought it was really good.”
Edison (16-12) had two match points in the third set. A service error erased the first. Carson followed with back-to-back kills, and the Wolverines claimed the set on a hitting error.
Although Edison had lost two prior meetings to the Wolverines this season, it had salvaged a set both times. The Chargers had also shown themselves to be competitive against Division 1 programs, earning a win over Huntington Beach and taking at least a set in each meeting of a home-and-home series with Wave League champion Los Alamitos.
Raul Papaleo had 13 kills and 1½ blocks for Aliso Niguel. Armaan Zia added 10 kills and 1½ blocks, and Tyler Harrison chipped in with five kills and four blocks.
“They’re just great at getting a good, soft block, slowing the ball down just enough so that their defense can kind of go to work,” Edison coach Elias Perez said of the Wolverines. “That’s just a testament to their defense. They’ve got a good strategy right there.
“We kind of got caught hitting the ball down too much, instead of going high and deep, trying to go over these guys.”
The Wolverines were effective defensively, despite having an undersized front row. Aliso Niguel coach Miguel Monterola said Harrison, who led his team in blocks, is 5 feet 6.
“He’s a guy who believes he is 7 feet tall,” Monterola said of Harrison, who teamed up with Papaleo on a block to end Game 4, the impact of Brandon Peacock’s strike sending him to the floor. “He’s ready for the moment.”
Harrison’s ability to overcome and contribute is characteristic of what Monterola described as his team’s overall fight.
“They’re peaking at the right time,” Monterola said. “They’ve been doing great in practice, fighting teams that technically they’re better than us, they’re more physical than us, but they just keep fighting and somehow figure out a way to win. Very proud of the boys.”
Sophomore middle blocker Ben Winokur and Peacock, a junior opposite, shared the team lead with 13 kills for Edison. Senior outside hitters Owen Shaff and Beau Johnson each had 11 kills, and junior middle blocker Emerson Evans added 10 kills.
“It was really exciting,” Evans said of his team hosting a quarterfinal. “Our team really bonded throughout the year. We had the two away [playoff] matches, and we were really excited, maybe a little over-amped coming home.
“We thought we really had a chance this year. Our league was so top-tier — all the teams — and we were playing in Division 3, which is a great division, but it’s somewhere where we think we could have gotten [far]. It’s just heartbreaking that we weren’t able to pull it out, especially at home and we had a big crowd.”
A disappointing loss did not overshadow a successful season for the Chargers’ coach.
“This is a huge success,” Perez said. “This was the whole group’s first time getting into the playoffs, and I thought it was a great learning experience for our young guys. That’s exactly what we want to get out of this — obviously a ring or a title — but we needed experience because we’ve got a lot of young guys on this team. We’re going to be bringing back a ton next year.”
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