Dos Pueblos Boys’ Volleyball Eliminated by Redondo Union in Quarterfinals of CIF-SS Division 2 Playoffs
Redondo Union Advances to the Semifinals with Sweep of the Chargers
After a strong start by the Dos Pueblos High boys’ volleyball team, Redondo Union wrestled away control of the match late in the first set and pulled away for a 25-21, 25-14, 25-17 sweep in the CIF-SS Division 2 quarterfinals on Friday night at Sovine Gym.
The Chargers led 19-15 in the first set before the visiting Seahawks ripped off six straight points, capitalizing on a flurry of errors by Dos Pueblos to take a 21-19 lead.
“That’s volleyball for you; if you don’t keep your foot on the gas and keep hammering away at a team and let them back in, they’ll find a way back into the match and that’s what can happen,” said Dos Pueblos coach Ehren Hug. “We’ve been great with getting past our mistakes and get on to the next point as of late, but not tonight.”
Dos Pueblos temporarily stopped the bleeding with a kill by Noah Grant that cut the deficit to 21-20, but the Seahawks closed the first set on a 4-1 run and took a 1-0 set lead on a kill by Drew Blair.
Redondo Union dominated set two from the very beginning and increased its lead to 15-5 when Luke Goldmann and Bobby Bennett combined for a block. Another kill by Grant clinched the second set for the Seahawks, 25-14, as the Chargers were repeatedly playing out of system and were unable to solve the Redondo Union block.
“We executed our low and tight blocking and they hit some balls out of bounds that maybe if guys overblock and try to touch everything, touch some of those balls that are going out of bounds,” said Redondo Union coach Kevin Norman. “We got a lot of blocks and we were disciplined, and that has been tough for us.”
The Chargers put up a better fight in set three as outside hitter Micah Goss began to heat up. A kill by Goss cut the Dos Pueblos deficit to 14-11 as he racked up seven of his team-high 13 kills in the third and final set.
After another kill by Goss cut the Dos Pueblos deficit to 18-15 before Redondo Union captured back-to-back points on a solo block by Bennett and an ace serve by Goldmann, forcing a Dos Pueblos time-out. The Seahawks closed the set on a 5-2 run to clinch the third set and the match.
Servite, 3; San Marcos, 1
The Royals fell short in a back-and-forth match 33-31, 18-25, 31-29, 25-23 as two sets went deep into extra points.
San Marcos was the second-seeded team in CIF-SS Division 2, but could not survive the long trip to Anaheim. The Royals finished the season with a 33-3 overall record and their first outright Channel League championship since 2014.