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Los Angeles Times
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Huntington Beach fights, falls in five sets to Mira Costa in CIF Division 1 final
Each passing point generated gasps from the stands, those on court digging just a little deeper as the fourth set offered one climatic moment after another. In its desperation to stay in a match with the nation's best boys' volleyball team in Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, Huntington Beach staved off four championship points in an extended set. When Colin Choi polished off the second of back-to-back kills to claim the marathon game, the Oilers poured onto the court. It hadn't decided the match, and yet it had been met with the sort of reaction as though it had. Huntington Beach had waited since the first week of the season to get another look at Mira Costa, and in the rematch the Oilers delivered a heart-and-soul effort to send Friday's final to a fifth set. Mira Costa pulled out the decisive set, a late run taking much of the drama out of the conclusion of what had been a riveting back-and-forth affair in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 championship match at Cerritos College. Grayson Bradford's match-best 25th kill ended it, as Mira Costa beat Huntington Beach 25-19, 22-25, 25-19, 29-31, 15-11 to give the Mustangs a ninth section title in program history. Mira Costa won a championship a year after appearing in the final and losing to Los Angeles Loyola. 'It's not a good feeling to come so close to your goals and not make it,' Mira Costa coach Greg Snyder said. 'I think that motivated us, for sure, especially the boys that were on this court last year and didn't quite get the job done. … They took those lessons, and I think they applied them this year, and it showed, I think, in their maturity on the court, that they were never really rattled.' Snyder said that he felt 'a lot of weight off my back' in winning the CIF title, adding that 'a lot of people were expecting' the Mustangs to win as the top seed. Huntington Beach (34-4), the second seed, was after its sixth CIF title and first since a run of three consecutive championships from 2013 to 2015. The Oilers won a CIF State Southern California Division II regional championship in 2021. They will now take aim at the inaugural boys' volleyball state championship, the brackets for which were released on Sunday. State playoff openers were scheduled for Tuesday, with Huntington Beach's path beginning with a home match against Redondo Union (27-10). 'We're going to come back to work and see if we can get another chance at these guys,' said Huntington Beach coach Craig Pazanti, quickly turning the page to the state playoffs. Mira Costa (32-2) jumped in front by winning the first and third sets. Huntington Beach had impressive answers to each deficit. Kai Gan stepped up to the service line in a rotation that saw the Oilers rattle off seven straight points to open the second set. In the fourth set, Huntington Beach received match-extending kills from Ben Arguello, Nick Ganier Jr. and Choi on championship points for the Mustangs. 'The character that this team showed in set four was unbelievable,' Pazanti said. 'You know, could have given up several times in that match, and just kept battling, kept battling, kept battling. It was just a great effort, and I just think we ran out of gas.' During the crucial stretch, Choi was blocked on an initial hitting effort, fell to the floor and then got up in time to rise for a bump set from a teammate and win a point. 'He's probably our most tenacious player,' Logan Hutnick said of Choi. 'He really just sticks through anything, and he never gives up on any point.' Aiden Atencio, Choi and Hutnick came up big in back-row defensive efforts against a Mira Costa team that had a considerable height advantage. Justin Bulsombut was also credited with contributing to six points on blocks. 'We didn't want to play Mira Costa's game,' Pazanti said. 'We wanted to play our game. Our game is different than those guys. They can afford to chuck it to the ceiling and go hit it over the block. We got to rely on playing great defense. We got to rely on passing the ball. We got to rely on putting service pressure on people from the service line.' Hutnick had an up-and-down evening as a hitter — 22 kills and 11 errors — but he handled the lion's share of opportunities in serve receive, committing just two miscues in 55 chances. The sophomore outside hitter also had a team-best 13 digs to go with 2½ blocks. Harvard-bound setter Kai Gan had 53 assists. Arguello accumulated 13 kills, Ganier Jr. had a dozen kills, Choi contributed nine kills and 10 digs, and Atencio produced 11 digs. 'We wanted to really have that mindset that 'we're the underdogs, and we have nothing to lose,'' Gan said of facing the finalists from a year ago. 'Real standpoint, though, obviously, they have huge height, and we knew that we have smaller guys on our team, but it doesn't mean that we can't still be effective in the offense. 'I think kind of positioning ourselves into establishing the middle and then also using all of our options, back row and front row, really helped us get to that fifth set.' Mira Costa put itself on the brink of victory with a 6-1 run to move within a point of the title once more at 14-8. It was academic at that point for the Mustangs, Andrew Chapin (57 assists, 12 digs) connecting with Bradford after the Oilers had fought off three more match points. 'I can set him every single ball of every single game and trust him that we're going to go out there and win this game,' Chapin said of Bradford. 'In crunch time, the fourth set, he had a swing to put it away, and he got dug, and I never ran away from it because I knew that he's a big-time player and he makes big-time plays.' Mateo Fuerbringer had 17 kills, three total blocks and two service aces for the Mustangs. Alex Heins had nine kills and nine block assists, Thatcher Fahlbusch also had nine kills, and Wyatt Davis chipped in with six kills and 3½ blocks. Justin Warner had a match-best 14 digs. Also in the CIF Southern Section boys' volleyball finals: Sage Hill 3, Santa Barbara 2: Jackson Cryst had 31 kills, as the Lightning rallied past the host Dons 15-25, 25-14, 18-25, 25-20, 15-8 on Saturday in the Division 4 final. Sage Hill (19-11) captured a section title for the second straight year. The Lightning earned the first CIF title in program history in winning the Division 5 championship last season. Ryan Manesh pounded out 11 kills, and Ethan McNutt turned in 19 digs defensively. Sage Hill, the top seed in the Southern California Division III regional, drew a home match against Fresno Sanger West (26-15) to start the state playoffs.
Los Angeles Times
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Huntington Beach boys' volleyball bests Newport Harbor in CIF opener
Huntington Beach showcased its depth at multiple positions in its postseason opener on Wednesday, as the Oilers were largely on the mark no matter who hit from the pins. Logan Hutnick, Ben Arguello and Colin Choi combined for 47 kills, as Huntington Beach fended off Newport Harbor 25-14, 25-19, 20-25, 25-21 in the first of three pool-play matches in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 boys' volleyball playoffs. 'I think the way we started this match is exactly what we needed to do,' said Hutnick, a sophomore outside hitter who had a match-leading 17 kills. 'We really came out firing on all pistons. We threw the first punch, second, third. We truly came out and wanted to win, and they didn't give up, either. 'They came back. They definitely put up a fight, winning that third set, but I'm really happy with how we did today.' Hutnick bounced a kill to clinch the first set, then had a service ace to claim the second set. Huntington Beach (32-3), the second seed in Division 1, will host the remainder of its matches in pool play. The Oilers will face seventh-seeded Redondo Union (27-8) on Tuesday, before taking on third-seeded Los Angeles Loyola (27-5) on Saturday, May 10. Redondo swept Loyola in an upset on Wednesday night. Top-seeded Manhattan Beach Mira Costa (29-2) beat Beckman (28-6) in straight sets, and Corona del Mar (22-5) swept San Clemente (19-9), as the Mustangs and Sea Kings defended their home courts to begin play in the other group. Arguello, starting for the first time this season as a junior opposite, had 15 kills, 11 digs and two total blocks (one solo). Junior outside hitter Colin Choi added 15 kills, eight digs and a block. Kai Gan, a Harvard-bound setter, contributed 44 assists, two kills and 1½ blocks. Senior libero Aiden Atencio also had 10 digs. The Oilers did not feature the middle much on offense, although seniors Justin Bulsombut and Nick Ganier each had two block assists. 'We had to take into consideration that their opposite, Henry [Clemo], is a big powerhouse,' Arguello said. 'He has a great serve. That was the main thing, just our serve receive, staying consistent and making sure they don't get runs on us. That's kind of what happened in the third set, where we lost there. 'As far as our middles go, I just think we didn't really have the opportunity to run them as much as we'd like. I think definitely that's one of our key strengths.' Huntington Beach coach Craig Pazanti said the Oilers became 'pin-centric' on offense largely because of matchups. The middle still made an impact with multiple triple-block efforts. 'It's got to be right place, right time,' Pazanti said. 'We got to serve tough enough, or we got to attack good enough to get the ball off the net, where they become predictable. Definitely saw a few more [triple-block attempts]. The percentages of scoring for a high ball, they drop tremendously when that third blocker comes up. There's so much less court, and it allows us to play even that much better defense.' Junior outside hitter JP Wardy had a team-leading 13 kills for Newport Harbor (24-11). Clemo, a junior, had a dozen kills and three aces. Junior setter Charlie Von Der Ahe distributed 42 assists. Junior Zachary DeMaio provided eight kills and two block assists, and senior Jack Berry produced seven kills and four block assists at middle blocker. Senior outside hitter Wyatt Nichols added five kills and two block assists. After Huntington Beach clinched the Sunset League title on Newport Harbor's home floor on April 11, the Sailors rebounded with a strong showing in the Redondo Tournament to earn a spot in the eight-team Division 1 competition. The Sailors won seven of their last eight games. 'The big thing the past couple weeks is we've played pretty clean,' Newport Harbor coach Matt Johnson said. 'I think that's just the big difference tonight. We didn't play super clean. We made a lot of unforced errors, and that's been the difference of our previous matches and the tournament win, versus here tonight. It is what it is. We got more matches. The beauty of the pool play is we can still make it. We're not done.' Also in the CIF Southern Section boys' volleyball playoffs: Corona del Mar 3, San Clemente 0: Junior outside hitter Ben Brown had 13 kills, as the Sea Kings swept the visiting Tritons 26-24, 25-18, 25-21 on Wednesday in a pool-play opener of the Division 1 playoffs. Junior outside hitter Hunter Hannemann added seven kills and three aces for fourth-seeded CdM, which plays host to No. 5 Beckman on Tuesday. Brogan Glenn, a UCLA-bound libero, contributed 16 digs. Junior middle blocker Jack Robinson had six kills, and junior setter Drake Foley handed out 32 assists. Edison 3, San Juan Hills 1: Senior opposite Connor McNally had 14 kills, six digs and three block assists, as the Chargers earned a 25-19, 25-21, 24-26, 25-21 road win to begin the Division 2 playoffs on Wednesday. Junior middle blocker Brent Benson had 13 kills on a 0.684 hitting percentage. Senior outside hitter Nathan King added 11 kills, eight digs and 1½ blocks. Sophomore setter Shane Nguyen tallied 29 assists for Edison (14-16), which plays at home against Mater Dei (23-12-2) on Wednesday, May 7 in the quarterfinals of the 16-team bracket. Senior libero Nathan Jackson finished with 15 digs and an ace. St. Margaret's 3, Fountain Valley 0: The visiting Barons fell to the Pacific Coast League-champion Tartans 26-24, 25-13, 25-19 in the first round of the Division 2 playoffs on Wednesday. Fountain Valley (21-11) was an at-large selection out of the Sunset League. Sage Hill 3, Riverside Hillcrest 0: Senior outside hitter Jackson Cryst had 18 kills and five aces, as the Lightning earned a 25-18, 25-20, 25-16 win at home on Wednesday in the first round of the Division 4 bracket. Sage Hill (15-11) will go on the road to face Pasadena Poly (15-3) on Saturday at 4 p.m. Pacifica Christian Orange County 3, Cerritos 0: Senior Hudson Reynolds had 19 kills, three aces and two blocks to lead the host Tritons to a 25-15, 25-14, 25-21 win on Wednesday in the first round of the Division 6 playoffs. Junior Atticus Graham pounded out 12 kills to go with three aces and three blocks for Pacifica Christian (13-15), which will be at home to face Rancho Cucamonga (19-13) on Saturday. Junior Joaquin Rigdon contributed 28 assists and four blocks. Ocean View 3, Palmdale Aerospace Academy 1: Junior outside hitter Alex McCarrick had 15 kills to pace the top-seeded Seahawks in a 25-21, 18-25, 25-16, 25-13 win to open the Division 7 playoffs at home on Tuesday. Senior opposite An Nguyen produced a dozen kills for Ocean View (16-8), which placed second in the Orange Coast League behind Westminster. Ocean View remains home to face Lakewood (11-10) in the second round on Friday. The Lancers were straight-set winners over Camarillo Beacon Hill in the opening round. Carpinteria 3, Los Amigos 0: Senior Devin Lee had 15 kills and four aces, but the visiting Lobos lost 25-20, 26-24, 25-21 on Wednesday in a Division 8 playoff opener. Junior Andy Phan had nine blocks, and junior Gerardo Espinoza also had four aces for Los Amigos (6-12), which was the third-place finisher in the Grove League. Pasadena Marshall 3, Liberty Christian 0: Sophomore opposite Justin Morgan had six kills and nine digs, but the visiting Minutemen were swept 25-11, 25-16, 26-24 on Tuesday in the first round of the Division 9 bracket. Junior setter Caleb Santa dished out 23 assists for Liberty Christian (12-13), which finished in a tie for second place with Anaheim Acaciawood Academy in the Express League this season.
Los Angeles Times
16-04-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Huntington Beach boys' volleyball snaps league title drought
Huntington Beach's high-powered attack has hammered its way through many an opponent this year, which left the boys' volleyball program on the cusp of an outright Sunset League title on Friday. 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.
