Advertisement

Oilers sweep to move into first

Share

A showdown Tuesday to determine the early leader in the Sunset League boys’ volleyball race went to Huntington Beach.

The Oilers showcased their balance and established themselves as the team to beat in the league by knocking off visiting Newport Harbor, 25-22, 25-21, 25-20. Both teams entered the match with 3-0 league records. Huntington, ranked eighth in CIF Southern Section Division 1, improved to 10-3 overall. Defending league-champion Newport Harbor slipped to 13-6.

Andrew Tenbrink and Zach Gates had 12 and 10 kills, respectively, and Matt Butler had 41 assists for the Oilers, who have swept all four of their league matches.

Advertisement

“Our depth is really showing,” Huntington Coach Craig Pazanti said. “We have so many options and when we pass the ball around the way we do, it’s a little tougher for teams to defend us. That’s one of our strengths.

“Every night, it’s someone different who steps up for us. Andrew (Tenbrink) and Zach (Gates) led us and the other night, it was Kyle (Baily) and Edgar (Palos), and Matt (Butler) has done a really good job of getting everybody involved.”

Huntington Beach previously swept visiting Edison, 25-18, 25-13, 25-15 on Friday.

Tenbrink and Bert Peyton each had nine kills against the Chargers. Grant Halsey had 14 digs and Butler had 31 assists.

Zach Hoskins had eight kills for Edison, which slipped to 0-3 in league.

Huntington, ranked seventh in CIF Southern Section Division 1, hosted Laguna Beach, the third-ranked team in Division 2, on Wednesday. The score wasn’t available at press time.

In other Sunset League action Tuesday, Edison earned its first league win with a 25-17, 18-25, 25-22, 20-25, 15-12 triumph at Marina (1-3), and Los Alamitos (2-2) scored a 25-21, 25-20, 25-16 home sweep of Fountain Valley (1-3)

michael.sciacca@latimes.com

Twitter: @MikeSciacca

Advertisement