Huntington Beach boys' volleyball snaps league title drought
When the Oilers finished the job at Newport Harbor, black-and-orange T-shirts were handed out to commemorate the accomplishment.
As the second-ranked team in the CIF Southern Section power rankings, the Oilers surely have more season-long goals to strive for, but Huntington Beach coach Craig Pazanti felt this was a significant one.
The Sunset League boasts schools that compete in the section's top playoff division with regularity, and with a 25-21, 12-25, 25-18, 25-21 win over the Sailors on Friday, the Oilers put the finishing touch on their first league title since 2016.
'It's a tough league,' Pazanti said. 'We've been one of the top teams in CIF for the last six, seven, eight years and still haven't won a league title.'
Pazanti said the T-shirts arrived earlier that day after the Oilers clinched at least a share of the league championship with a straight-sets win at Edison on April 9.
Huntington Beach (30-3, 11-0 in the Sunset League) can cap an undefeated run through the league with a win over Fountain Valley at home on Tuesday.
After that, the Oilers will turn their attention to the CIF postseason, where they will embark on a quest to bring the program its sixth section championship. Pazanti led the Oilers to three consecutive CIF titles from 2013 to 2015, the spoils that came via a 121-match win streak from 2013 to 2016, by far the longest winning streak in section history.
Huntington Beach had hoped to square off with top-ranked Manhattan Beach Mira Costa in the Santa Barbara Tournament of Champions, but Chicago Marist beat both of the Southern Section favorites in about a five-hour span on April 5.
'We ran into a team that was playing pretty hot,' Pazanti noted. 'They were playing pretty well. I think they got their legs under them in that match on [April 3], when they lost at [Mira] Costa pretty badly, so they were kind of out for a little redemption, too... I think we really wanted to get a chance to play Mira Costa, but we still have a chance, so we control our own destiny at this point now. I think with the way the rankings are, we should be playing at home a lot of matches in the playoffs.'
There are options on the floor for the Oilers, enhanced by the development of Justin Bulsombut in the middle. It has freed up Logan Hutnick (16 kills) and Ben Arguello (11 kills and two block assists) on the pins, and Nick Ganier (eight kills and three blocks assists) has to be accounted for at middle blocker.
Then there's Colin Choi, who fits a mold that Pazanti has often tied to program success. The Oilers' coach is comforted by the defensive abilities in the back row of Choi, who also compiled 11 kills and three total blocks against the Sailors.
'The unsung hero every night is Colin Choi,' Pazanti said. 'He does all the little things. He's one-on-one a lot. When he gets his sets, he takes advantage of it. With him and [Aiden] Atencio, it's like having a second libero out there when he's in the back row because he's such a great passer [and] defender, but he can score. They're so focused on Ganier when he's in the front row. He gets a lot of one-on-ones, and he takes care of the ball when he gets those opportunities.'
Choi's two brothers — Sinjin and Ethan — previously played for the Oilers, but he is the first to win a league title. With a chance to add on, he's hopeful the team can call in a favor from friends to strengthen their home-court advantage.
'I think a lot of the guys have a lot of connections, so I think if we really try, we can definitely fill up the gym,' Choi said.
Kai Gan, charged with running the Oilers' offense, had 42 assists and two solo blocks.
Newport Harbor (17-9, 6-5) has clinched a playoff spot. Four automatic postseason berths are allocated to the Sunset League, which consists of seven teams. The others will go to Corona del Mar (16-5, 9-2) and Edison (11-11, 6-4).
The latest rankings released on Tuesday placed Newport Harbor ninth in the Southern Section. If only eight teams were taken in Division 1, and if the Sailors remained outside the threshold, the Sailors' prospects would improve dramatically in another bracket. The section will release its boys' volleyball playoff pairings on Saturday, April 26.
Newport Harbor showed what it could do in making Huntington Beach work for every point down the stretch on Friday. Outside hitter JP Wardy had 10 of his match-best 25 kills in an explosive second set.
'A ton of buy-in through the whole match,' Newport Harbor coach Matt Johnson said of his team's performance. 'We just had endless and relentless effort, which is a big thing that we've been working on in practice of just going for the ball no matter what. I think that showed tonight. We just keep going, and we're capable of just continuing to go and go and go.'
Opposite Henry Clemo added 15 kills and three block assists, outside hitter Wyatt Nichols had seven kills, and middle blocker Jack O'Brien chipped in with four kills and four block assists. Setter Charlie Von Der Ahe dished out 49 assists to go with 1½ blocks and a service ace.
Newport Harbor will play in the Redondo Tournament this weekend, where Johnson said the Sailors will be in a 'power pool' that includes Edison, San Diego Torrey Pines (17-2) and the host Sea Hawks, who are 24-4 overall.
'That's going to be a great day of volleyball,' Johnson added.
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