Playoffs in full swing!
The San Francisco and Central Coast Sections will join the postseason party early next week, but just about all other sections that play boys volleyball are deep in the throes of their playoffs, including the North Coast, Central, and San Diego Sections, which played another round on Thursday.
North Coast
Las Lomas is the story in Division 1, as the field reduced to the final four yesterday.
The Knights were ticketed for Division 2, but got the bump for the top flight after beating College Park in their last regular-season match. They took on second-seeded Foothill of Pleasanton as a 15-seed on Tuesday and won the first-round match, 3-1!
“I believe that is the highest ranked team we have beaten on opening night at North Coast,” said Las Lomas head coach Jim Changaris.
The Knights came out strong against Foothill, which went into the match losers in three of its last four; and never took their foot off the pedal.
“Tate Thompson distributed the ball well and kept our whole team engaged and in rhythm,” Changaris said.
Bryson Boydstun-Eaton and Soren Olson combined for 22 kills for the victors, which also got strong middle play from Ajay Reddy and Caspian Silverthorne. Hunter Marshall had four solo blocks, served tough, and passed a 2.5 off the bench.
Las Lomas followed up that win with a 3-2 nail-biter last night over San Ramon Valley. The Knights have now won six in a row, immediately after having lost four straight. They will play a Tuesday semifinal against third-seeded Amador Valley, a 3-1 Thursday winner over Dublin. Those two teams met on April 16, with AV winning in a three-game sweep.
The other side of the bracket has top-seeded Northgate battling De La Salle. Northgate swept past Liberty of Brentwood in a Thursday semifinal, while DLS came from down two sets to reverse sweep Moreau Catholic.
Northgate won the final two sets in a 3-1 win over Liberty, a match that featured club teammates on both sides of the net. Tougher serving propelled the top-seeded Broncos in the final two sets. Connor Harze and Trey Broussard teamed for 17 kills and six blocks for the victors. Zachary Sisney and Tyler DeGuzman played well in the loss for Liberty, which made the postseason for the seventh straight year.
De La Salle was withering under the attack of Marcelo Molina-Aced and lost the first two sets, 13 and 16. The Spartans subbed in Opposite Aidan Zingmark and 6-6 MB Brett Batcheller. Their presence at the net changed the momentum completely, said Spartan coach Stephanie Cline.
De La Salle was able to slow Molina-Aced’s attack thanks to Batcheller (six blocks), 6-7 middle Cooper Cassidy (11 blocks), and 6-4 bookends Lucas Berry and Austin Berry (12 more blocks, combined).
Lucas Berry finished with a team-high 11 kills, while Liam Wilson, Cassidy, Austin Berry, Batcheller, and Zingmark teamed for 32 more in the win, which was capped by a 15-9 score in the final set.
The Division 2 playoffs were roiled from the start when the last team in the bracket, No. 16 Irvington, took out top-seeded College Prep in the first round, with three 25-23 set scores, including in the deciding fifth set. The Vikings continued their magical run last night, with a reverse sweep of a Heritage team they lost to in straight sets during the regular season.
Redwood of Larkspur, International, and American Canyon join Irvington in the semis. International, the No. 2 seed, is riding a 12-match winning streak.
Led by Hector Valencia and Patrick Gamboa, American Canyon has played a Cinderella role similar to Irvington. The No. 14 Wolves upended No. 3 Analy in the first round and followed up yesterday with a 3-2 win over No. 6 San Leandro.
Things are less crazy in Div. 3, where the top two seeds remain, but the zaniness extends to Div. 4, which has the No. 9 and No. 12 seeds in one semifinal.
Central
The six-team Division 1 field has played a total of two matches, and there have been two seeding upsets.
With No. 1 Clovis and No. 2 Clovis East receiving byes into the semifinals, the two quarterfinal matches saw No. 6 Clovis North knock off No. 3 Sanger and No. 5 Buchanan get by No. 4 Bullard.
Sanger had entered the playoffs sporting an 18-1 record since April 1, but could not handle North, losing to the Broncos a second time this year in a best-of-five match.
Buchanan’s win over Bullard was the fifth in a row for the Bears and avenged a 3-2 loss in mid-March.
Semifinals are Tuesday.
In Division 2, Santa Ynez knocked off top-seeded Arroyo Grande, 3-2, to make the semifinals along with Justin Garza, Sanger West, and Central East.
Sanger West’s first-round win on Tuesday over Madera South was the first in program history. Austin Vang led all hitters with 15 kills, and Jayden Vang contributed 34 assists and 11 digs.
Sanger West’s second all-time playoff win came last night versus San Luis Obispo. The Hornets dominated the final two sets to come from behind. Max Inboon was a standout in the back row for the second straight match.
In Division 3, top-seeded Righetti reached the semis after a tough 3-2 win over Bakersfield Christian, 17-15 in the fifth. Did you know that Bakersfield Christian is the only school in all of Bakersfield that fields a boys volleyball team? The more you know…
San Diego
In the eight-team Open division, the top two seeds, Carlsbad and Torrey Pines, are into the semis after Thursday's 3-1 wins.
Carlsbad overcame Miles Custer’s 16 kills to defeat Francis Parker.
Torrey Pines got 24 kills from Bjorn Hawe and 15 more from Ben Soudak as the Falcons handed Canyon Crest Academy its first loss of the year.
Parker and CCA remain alive in the double elimination bracket and will battle loser’s bracket victors on Saturday for spots in the Tuesday semifinals.
Div. 1 plays its quarterfinals today. Del Norte won a first-round match over Santa Fe Christian on Wednesday thanks to the all-around play of Will Bartelt. Sophomore Sawyer Anderson led SFC with 17 kills.
No. 1 Saint Augustine and No. 2 Poway had first-round byes.
In Div. 2, Coronado, La Jolla, and Clairemont all recorded 3-2 wins to make the semifinals, along with San Dieguito Academy, which swept. Coronado’s win came over El Cajon Valley, the division’s top seed, and was of the reverse sweep variety.
Sac-Joaquin
The finals are set in the SJS’s five divisions.
In Div. 1, the two top seeds, Oak Ridge and Folsom, will battle tomorrow for the title.
Oak Ridge won its semifinal on Tuesday over Pleasant Grove in four sets thanks to strong serving and passing and big performances from setter Jack Reynolds and middles Travis Vandeluyster and Nic Nettleman.
Folsom swept Laguna Creek behind a combined 23 kills from Jack DeGraff and Parker Dison.
Oak Ridge and Folsom split two regular-season matches, with Folsom winning more recently, 3-0, on April 23.
“To be successful Saturday, we are going to have to serve tough, pass well, run a diverse offense, and play solid defense,” said Oak Ridge coach Range Larson. “We will also have to execute well on in-match adjustments.”
The top two seeds, Del Oro and West Park, will meet for the Div. 2 title.
The Div. 3 championship match will see the No. 3 seed, Ripon Christian, take on No. 4 Christian Brothers. Ripon Christian won the last two sets on Tuesday to stun second-seeded River Valley. The Knights had to rally from down 11-8 in the third to win. Mason Tameling finished with a match-high 24 kills. Christian Brothers won a thriller from No. 1 Vista del Lago, 15-13 in the third.
The top two seeds in Div. 4 and Div. 5 will meet in the finals after convincing Tuesday semifinal wins. Only No. 2 Livingston in Div. 4 did not sweep.
Westlake Charter, the top seed in Div. 5, took a 3-0 win over John Adams of El Dorado Hills to make the finals. Serving was a key for the Explorers, who also got strong setting from Matthew Del Pozo and efficient hitting from the quartet of pins Zach Myers, Hudson Hein and Kai De Silva , and MB Jalen Hinman-Inniss. Senior setter Allen Babchanik and sophomore OH Isaac Morris acquitted themselves well in defeat for John Adams.
Los Angeles
The top four seeds won Wednesday's quarterfinals to make the semifinals next Tuesday. No. 1 Venice will take on No. 4 Granada Hills Charter. No. 2 Chatsworth, the only team not to sweep its first-round match, will face No. 3 El Camino Real.
The top two seeds in all the other divisions, including Taft and Carson, in Div. I safely made it to the quarterfinals.
Southern
Eight teams began play in two pools in Div. 1. After two rounds, one finalist, Huntington Beach, has been determined, while Mira Costa and Corona del Mar will meet tomorrow to determine the other finalist.
Huntington Beach (2-0) clinched Pool B by sweeping Redondo Union on Tuesday night. The Oilers won the first two sets at deuce. Logan Hutnick led the way with 15 kills, and serving subs Easton Ebmeyer and Nicky Brazao were instrumental from behind the service line for the victors, who previously defeated Newport Harbor.
Loyola, the 2024 Southern Section and Southern California Regional champion, is 0-2 in Pool B. The No. 3 overall seeds lost Wednesday to Newport Harbor, 3-1, only a few days after the death of team manager and tennis standout, senior Braun Levi. Levi was hit by a suspected drunk driver while walking in Manhattan Beach. Our hearts go out to his family and extended family at Loyola.
In Pool A, Corona del Mar is now 2-0 after Tuesday’s four-set win over Beckman. Ben Brown had 18 kills, and Drake Foley contributed 48 assists in the win for the Sea Kings. Luke Morrison had 16 kills for Beckman in the loss.
Mira Costa is also 2-0 after sweeping San Clemente. The Mustangs are the top-ranked team in the state and the nation. They beat CdM in the season opener in February and tournament play in March. They also won in the same spot last year, with a berth in the Southern Section finals on the line.
Top-seeded Mater Dei is into the semifinals in Div. 2, along with St. Francis of La Cañada, St. Margaret’s Episcopal, and Peninsula.
Mater Dei defeated Edison of Huntington Beach for the second time this season, in four sets, behind 27 kills combined from Jeremiah Potasi and Dylan Gallagher.
St. Francis outlasted El Segundo, 15-11 in the fifth, thanks to 17 kills and 17 digs from Matthew Polenzani. Ryan Bender added 16 kills for the Golden Knights, who got a double-double from Gabriel Heim-Benoit (41 assists; 12 digs) and 26 total blocks, including nine from Jackson Chylinski. Ryan Pilkvist had a match-high 25 kills for El Segundo in the loss.
St. Margaret’s won a hard-fought, four-setter over Burroughs of Burbank.
The difference was the Tartans’ steady side out offense, said coach Bob Yoder. St. Margaret’s sided out at a 68.5 percent rate and generated 23 kills out of the middle, led by Beckett Harvey’s 14. Aidan McMahon led the offensive attack as the team’s setter, and libero Botty O’Cane led a solid defensive effort with 13 kills..
Peninsula upset second-seeded Santa Margarita Catholic, 19-25, 25-23. 24-26, 31-29, 18-16, in a match that was as wild as the score indicated. The Panthers survived several match points against to force a fifth set, then trailed the Eagles, 13-8 and 14-12, before rallying to win behind the duo of Drake Harris and Kyle Boger.
Tesoro, North Torrance, Warren, and Orange Lutheran make up the final four in Div. 3.
Warren has been getting the job done thanks to sophomore setter Logi Holder and prolific scorers Caleb Schmidt, a senior middle, and senior outsides Daniel Patino and Jacob Reynolds.
Orange Lutheran may have talent in its lumps in the Trinity League (1-9 record), but that experience against top-flight competition has served the Lancers well in the postseason. Wednesday’s sweep of Mission Viejo was spurred by the setting of David Zazueta and the hitting of Connor Engelbrecht and Logan Busch, who combined for 30 kills.
Santiago of Corona, Santa Barbara, Crean Lutheran, and Sage Hill are in the semifinals in Div. 4.
Freshman Logan Chambers had 16 kills as Santiago rallied from two sets down to oust Westlake on Wednesday.
The serving and passing of Jack Goligoski helped lift Santa Barbara to a sweep over Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks.
News and notes…
Woodcreek coach Brian Jew (left) celebrates 500 career wins with his crew
Brian Jew, who has coached boys and girls volleyball at Woodcreek since the school opened in 1994, won his 500th with the boys during the first round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Div. 2 playoffs. The Timberwolves, who fell to Nevada Union in the second round, have made the Section playoffs for six straight years.
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Ripon Christian is in its fourth finals in five years. The Knights started playing boys volleyball just eight years ago.
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Brea Olinda has not dropped a set in three playoff matches in the Southern Section’s Division 7. Wednesday’s win over Lakewood was powered by Addison Altermatt’s 10 kills.
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Liam Knezevic and Tyson Deveze combined for 36 kills in Laguna Blanca’s four-set win over Pacifica Christian on Wednesday in a Southern Section Div. 6 quarterfinal. Setter Baylor Wilson and middle Soren Alldredge also were standouts for the victorious Owls.
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Colt Schmidt had 32 kills to help send top-seeded Desert Christian past Carpinteria in Div. 8 of the Southern Section playoffs.
Single-match stat stars
We have been asking coaches on our bulk email list to help compile a list of astounding single-game statistical achievements! We will keep a running tally of players who stat at these levels for a single match:
45 assists or more in a match
30 kills or more in a match
30 digs or more in a match
10 blocks or more in a match
10 aces or more in a match
Here’s what we have so far…
45 assists or more
52 – Josh Salonga, 6-0 Jr. S, Foothill (Pleasanton) – Feb. 21 vs Granada
52 – Gage Toledo, 5-10 Jr. S, Big Valley Christian – April 24 vs. Ripon
52 -- Carson Chambers, 6-6 Sr. S, Santiago (Corona) – April 10 vs Roosevelt (Eastvale)
48 -- Cooper Barrus, 6-0 Sr. S/OPP, Thousand Oaks – March 28 vs Newbury Park
48 – Drake Foley, 6-1 Jr. S, Corona del Mar – May 6 vs Beckman
47 -- Cooper Barrus, 6-0 Sr. S/OPP, Thousand Oaks – April 9 vs Westlake
47 -- Caleb Soltwedel, 6-5 Sr. S, Desert Christian – March 11 vs Palmdale Aerospace Academy
47 -- Haobin Chen, 5-11 Soph. S, Eagle Rock – March 26 vs University of Los Angeles
47 -- Cooper Barrus, 6-0 Sr. S/OPP, Thousand Oaks – April 23 vs Oxnard
47 – Alex Sweetman, 5-9 Jr. S, Antelope – April 30 vs Manteca
46 – Daniel Lambdin, 6-0 Jr. S, Ripon Christian – May 2 vs Beyer
45 -- Haobin Chen, 5-11 Soph. S, Eagle Rock – March 27 vs Wilson of Los Angeles
30 kills
33 -- Colt Schmidt, 6-1 Sr. OH, Desert Christian – March 11 vs Palmdale Aerospace Academy
32 – Tyrel Robertson, 5-10 Sr. OH, Golden Sierra – March 19 vs San Juan
32 -- Colt Schmidt, 6-1 Sr. OH, Desert Christian – May 7 vs Carpinteria
32 – Noah Douphner, 6-5 Sr. OH, West Ranch – April 30 vs El Segundo
30 -- Colt Schmidt, 6-1 Sr. OH, Desert Christian – April 8 vs Palmdale Aerospace Academy
30 digs
34 – Huston Tosh, 5-10 Jr. libero, Foothill (Santa Ana) – April 10 vs Orange Lutheran
32 – Ryan Nance, 5-9 Jr. libero, San Ysidro -- April 8 vs Escondido Charter High School
10 blocks
13 -- Kenneth Castillo, 6-4 Jr. MB, Desert Christian – April 9 vs Ambassador Christian
11 -- Pierce Willardson, 6-6 Sr. MB, Santiago (Corona) – March 11 vs Roosevelt (Eastvale)
11 – Cooper Cassidy, 6-7 Sr. MB, De La Salle – May 8 vs Moreau Catholic
10 -- Pierce Willardson, 6-6 Sr. MB, Santiago (Corona) – April 15 vs Corona
10 – Bryson Saint, 6-5 Sr. MB, Thousand Oaks – Feb. 9 vs Oak Park
10 aces
15 -- Colt Schmidt, 6-1 Sr. OH, Desert Christian – March 11 vs Palmdale Aerospace Academy
Triple doubles
In this space we recognize those players who reached double digits in one match in three of assists, kills, digs, blocks and aces:
Josh Salonga, 6-0 Jr. S, Foothill (Pleasanton) – 25 assists, 12 kills, 12 digs on March 4 vs Mission San Jose
Josh Salonga, 6-0 Jr. S, Foothill (Pleasanton) – 39 assists, 11 kills, 11 digs on March 6 vs Castro Valley
Josh Salonga, 6-0 Jr. S, Foothill (Pleasanton) – 44 assists, 12 digs, 10 kills on April 24 vs California (San Ramon)
Caden Epperson, 6-4 Jr. S/Oppo, Foothill (Santa Ana) – 26 assists, 10 kills, 12 digs on April 10 vs Orange Lutheran
Colt Schmidt, 6-1 Sr. OH, Desert Christian – 33 kills, 15 aces, 18 digs on March 11 vs Palmdale Aerospace Academy
Season-long stat stars
This week, we asked coaches on our bulk email list to help compile a list of season-long stats stars who have reached or exceeded these thresholds:
750 or more assists
400 or more kills
400 or more digs
100 or more blocks
70 or more aces
Here’s what we have so far…
Assists
875 – Daniel Lambdin, 6-0 Jr. S, Ripon Christian
875 – Josh Salonga, 6-0 Jr. S, Foothill (Pleasanton)
847 -- Jayden Vang, 5-7 Jr. S, Sanger West
825 – Jackson Lloyd, 5-10 Jr. S, Immanuel (Reedley)
820 -- Gage Toledo, 5-10 Jr. S, Big Valley Christian
779 -- Cooper Barrus, 6-0 Sr. S/OPP, Thousand Oaks
782 -- Carson Chambers, 6-6 Sr. S, Santiago (Corona)
Kills
553 – Noah Douphner, 6-5 Sr. OH, West Ranch
483 -- Colt Schmidt, 6-1 Sr. OH, Desert Christian
441 – Mason Tameling, 6-2 Jr. OH, Ripon Christian
410 – Jamie Fraser, 6-2 Soph. OH, Oak Ridge
406 – Luke Dorn, 6-2 Jr. OH, Big Valley Christian
Digs
435 – Zach Kochel, 5-11 Jr. libero, Thousand Oaks
424 – Ryan Nance, 5-9 Jr. libero, San Ysidro
Blocks
121 -- Pierce Willardson, 6-6 Sr. MB, Santiago (Corona)
115 – Bryson Saint, 6-5 Sr. MB, Thousand Oaks
103 – Jair Flores, 6-3 Jr. MB, San Ysidro
Aces
86 – Noah Douphner, 6-5 Sr. OH, West Ranch
83 – Luke Dorn, 6-2 Jr. OH, Big Valley Christian
81 – Mason Tameling, 6-2 Jr. OH, Ripon Christian
78 -- Colt Schmidt, 6-1 Sr. OH, Desert Christian
College-Bound!
In this space, we list those players who have made a commitment to attend (or are committed to the application process to attend) a college or university of their choice and to play men’s indoor volleyball. Please send any college commitments we may have missed (any level; scholarship or walk on) to jtawa@cifstate.org in the format you see below.
Will Bartelt, 6-5 Sr. OH, Del Norte – UC San Diego
Derek Bashford, 6-2 Sr. OH, Carlsbad – Golden West College
Bobby Bennett, 6-3 Sr. MB, Redondo Union - Princeton
Grayson Bradford, 6-11 Sr. RS, Mira Costa -- UCLA
Nathan Burns, 5-9 Sr. libero, El Segundo – Cal Lutheran
Sebastian Castro, 5-11 Sr. S, San Ysidro – North Park University
Andrew Chapin, 6-3 Sr. S, Mira Costa -- USC
Kale Cochran, 6-7 Sr. OH, Whitney -- USC
Brayden Darm, 6-0 Sr. S, Capistrano Valley Christian – The Masters University
Wyatt Davis, 6-6 Jr. MB, Mira Costa – UC Santa Barbara
Jack DeGraff, 6-7 Sr. OH, Folsom – Southern Virginia University
Daniel DeVine, 6-6 Sr. RS, Saint Francis (Mountain View) – Pepperdine
Parker Dison, 6-3 Sr. OH, Folsom – Orange Coast College
Oliver Dotty, 6-6 Sr. MB, Carlsbad -- Harvard
Noah Douphner, 6-5 Sr. OH, West Ranch – Cal State Northridge
William Dryden, 6-7 Sr. OH, Archbishop Mitty – UC Santa Barbara
Kieran Dumain, 6-4 Sr. OH, JSerra Catholic – UC San Diego
Blake Fahlbusch, 6-7 Jr. OH, Loyola -- USC
Holden Findley, 6-6 Sr. S, Bellarmine College Prep – Steven’s Inst. Of Technology
Kai Gan, 6-4 Sr. S, Huntington Beach -- Harvard
Brogan Glenn, 6-0 Sr. libero, Corona Del Mar – UCLA
Tyler Hamm, 6-0 Sr. libero, Fresno Christian -- Lincoln Memorial University
Drake Harris, 6-2 Sr. OH, Peninsula - UC Santa Cruz
Alex Heins, 6-6 Sr. MB, Mira Costa – New Jersey Institute of Technology
Joaquin Jones, 6-0 Sr. S, Redondo Union - IPFW
Cooper Keane, 6-7 Sr. RS/OH, Mira Costa – USC
Matt Kelly, 6-2 Jr. libero, Loyola – Loyola University of Chicago
Jack Loper, 6-5 Sr. OH, San Clemente -- Stanford
Kane Lum, 5-5 DS, Thousand Oaks -- Emmanuel University
Aidan McMahon, 6-3 Sr. S, St. Margaret’s Episcopal – Belmont Abbey College
Luke Morrison, 6-4 Sr. RS, Beckman -- Harvard
Roman Payne, 7-0 Sr. MB, Carlsbad -- Hawaii
Jack Phelps, 5-11 Sr. OH, Windward -- Princeton
Dylan Pilkvist, 6-6 Sr. OH, El Segundo – UC Santa Barbara
Ryan Pilkvist, 6-6 Sr. OH, El Segundo – UC Santa Barbara
Andre Pimenta, 6-7 Sr. RS, Wiseburn Da Vinci – St. Francis
Kaden Porter, 6-2 Sr. RS/OH, El Cajon Valley – Bluefield University
Lucas Posell, 6-5 Jr. RS, Loyola -- Princeton
Jack Reynolds, 6-4 Sr. S, Oak Ridge – Santa Barbara City College
John Ritz, 6-2 Sr. MB/OH/RS, El Camino – University of Jamestown
Colt Schmidt, 6-1 Sr. libero, Desert Christian -- Dordt University
Gabriel Silva, 5-10 Sr. S, San Ysidro – Grossmont College
Nicholas Sorenson, 6-5 Sr. MB, Bullard – Indiana Technical
Maxwell Stotsky, 6-2 Sr. OH, Windward -- Hobart
Joel Toves, 6-2 S/RS, Clovis – UC Merced
Joseph Tran, 6-3 Sr. S, Vacaville Christian -- The Masters University
Marek Turner, 6-5 Sr. RS., Wilson (Long Beach) -- UCLA
Conor Walsh, 6-4 Sr. OH, Northgate -- UC Santa Cruz