Edison boys’ volleyball meets its end versus Mater Dei
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Edison went deep into its roster to try to find a hot hand, and though several took turns, it wasn’t enough for the Chargers against a Mater Dei team that looked every bit like a title contender.
The top-seeded Monarchs ended the season for the host Chargers, who took a 25-17, 25-22, 23-25, 25-19 loss on their home court on Wednesday in the CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys’ volleyball playoffs.
“They were consistent tonight about sealing the net,” Edison coach Elias Perez said of the Monarchs. “I thought they were good in the front row, and that kind of got to us a little bit. We tried to change our game plan a little bit in the third set, kind of going for deeper corner shots and just trying to get some more one-on-one opportunities.
“We kind of found our way right there, but that slow start in the fourth just kind of tagged us a little bit. Up against a great team like Mater Dei, a slow start, that’s kind of a sentence to knock you out. It’s a credit to them. They showed up, and they kind of had their foot on the gas in the beginning, and we were just a little too slow to respond.”
After beginning his evening with just one kill against three hitting errors in the first set, Nathan King raised his level to finish with a team-best 13 kills for Edison (14-17). Shane Wright also provided an emotional lift for the Chargers, appealing to the crowd to become a factor after several big points in the second set.
Wright went on to deliver five kills and five block assists, and while Jack Grady (five kills) ended up with just one service ace, his jump serve enabled the Chargers to make some headway on the scoreboard.
“Our two freshmen were insane tonight,” Perez said of Grady and Wright. “I was just telling them, ‘It’s a testament to you guys and your training and your heart,’ to go in there with some 18-year-old guys on the other side of the court and play like they’ve been there before. I told them, ‘Those are two of your best matches the whole year,’ and that’s CIF quarterfinals.”
Edison utilized three setters — Shane Nguyen (20 assists), Kyle Duffey (13 assists) and Kion Cumme (10 assists). Ian Joyce also provided a dozen kills off the bench, including the clinching point off a feed from Duffey in the third set.
The runs were limited, however, by the verticality of the Monarchs, the front-row defense keying in on Chargers opposite Connor McNally (10 kills, four block assists) and middle blocker Brent Benson (three kills, two block assists).
Mater Dei totaled 10 blocks as a team, led by middle blocker Cameron Massoudi (five kills, six block assists). Pepperdine-bound Dylan Gallagher had 14 kills and 2½ blocks, Jeremiah Potasi added 13 kills and four block assists, and Ben Smith chipped in with 11 kills and three block assists. Jake Newman contributed 44 assists and one total block.
“We know he’s like their main guy, a good, strong lefty hitter, so we were really focused on him,” Potasi said of McNally. “I think we were able to get a couple good blocks off him, and they had to spread their offense out. I think we did a good job blocking-wise.
“With the serving, too. Nathan [Jackson] is a great libero, so we knew to stay away from him, and I think we did a good job — both float servers and jump servers — just keeping that ball in with some pace and just getting some momentum going from the service line.”
The second set proved critical, providing a cushion for the Monarchs, even as the Chargers made their push.
After Edison took the third set, Mater Dei (24-12-2) claimed the first five points of the fourth set with libero Beck Schobel at the service line. The Monarchs took few chances on serve with their ability to transition quickly from defense into offense.
“We stopped [jump serving] completely at the end of the second set,” Mater Dei coach Jake Nuneviller said. “We were digging, man. We were digging them, and we were blocking them. There’s kind of that moment in sports, right, where you feel that momentum shift. … If they’re struggling to score, we can’t let them off the hook.
“I think on both sides, there was a big emphasis on defense. They’re scrappy. They dig. We were digging, and we were blocking, and I had a lot of faith in what we were doing on the net, blocking and digging, so we decided to go a little bit more conservative from the service line.”
Mater Dei will travel to La Cañada St. Francis (22-6) for its semifinal match on Saturday.
Both coaches felt there was an argument to be made for their teams to have been included among the Division 1 field. The section wound up taking eight teams for Division 1.
“We absolutely believe we can compete with the best of them,” Nuneviller said. “I honestly believe Edison should be in Division 1, too. I believe that the committee, on what they decided to do with the CIF Southern Section, made a mistake. … The rules say it can be anywhere between eight to 16 teams in Division 1, and I think it should have been 12. I think we deserve to be up there. I think [Santa] Margarita deserves to be up there. I think Edison deserves to be up there, and I think Peninsula deserves to be up there, but we’re focusing on controlling what we can control.”
Also in the CIF Southern Section boys’ volleyball playoffs:
Newport Harbor 3, Los Angeles Loyola 1: The Sailors earned a 21-25, 25-22, 26-24, 25-23 road win over the third-seeded Cubs on Wednesday in a pool-play match of the Division 1 playoffs.
Newport Harbor (25-11), which dropped its playoff opener at second-ranked Huntington Beach, closes out the group with a home match against Redondo Union (27-9) on Saturday at noon.
Sage Hill 3, Simi Valley Royal 2: The Lightning pulled off an upset of the second-seeded Highlanders 25-17, 22-25, 25-16, 15-25, 15-10 on Wednesday in a Division 4 quarterfinal on the road.
Sage Hill (17-11) moved within one match of its second consecutive CIF finals appearance. The Lightning will play host to Crean Lutheran (16-12) in the semifinals on Saturday.
Santa Barbara Laguna Blanca 3, Pacifica Christian 1: Senior outside hitter Hudson Reynolds had 23 kills and seven digs, but the visiting Tritons fell to the Owls 25-15, 25-19, 23-25, 25-19 on Wednesday in a Division 6 quarterfinal.
Junior setter Joaquin Rigdon had 31 assists, three total blocks and two service aces for Pacifica Christian (14-16). Junior opposite Ryan Pearson added eight kills, junior outside hitter Atticus Graham had six kills and two block assists, and junior middle blocker Grayson Baker chipped in with five kills and 4½ blocks.
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