Girls Sand Volleyball (7-1)
Laguna completed their regular league season with another league title as the team swept JSerra 3-0 to capture the South Coast Division of the Interscholastic Beach Volleyball League, edging out second place Saddleback Valley Christian. The Breakers’ top team, seniors Lauren LaMontagne and Kendyl Brennan, won 19-21, 21-18, 15-13. They picked apart JSerra’s defense and closed the match on a four-point run to win a thrilling third game, 15-13. The second team, freshmen Peri Brennan and Soren Patchell, won 19-21, 21-12, 15-6. They came up short in a competitive first game, but found a rhythm and were in complete control of the second and third games. The third squad, senior Kaden Matheson and sophomore Kylee Matheson, won 21-13, 21-10. The chemistry showed for these sisters, who overpowered a solid JSerra team.
The playoffs were to start May 4 and the pairs tournament to be held Saturday, May 6. The league web site is www.ibvl.org. Breakers lost to Mira Costa in the finals last year in team competition while two Breakers individual teams picked up bronze medals losing in the semifinals.
Boys Volleyball (16-4, 9-0)
Laguna was somewhat disappointed finishing fifth at the 32-team Redondo tournament last weekend in the South Bay. Breakers were seeded third and had their chances to improve their rankings. On Friday, April 28, the Breakers defeated Carlsbad 25-13, 25-17 and held off Coronado (Henderson, Nev.) 24-26, 25-13, 15-9. In the final game of the evening, Laguna lost to Division 1 rival Newbury Park 25-17, 22-25, 13-15. A number of calls ruled against Laguna were officiating errors, a review of video showed. The most devastating came in the third set tied 13-13 when a cross court Laguna kill was ruled out, though film shows it was in by two feet.
Not disheartened, Breakers bounced back Saturday to surprise La Costa Canyon 25-21, 25-20 in the round of 16 gold division playoffs. The Mavericks (14-6) are considered one of San Diego’s top teams and they defeated Huntington Beach earlier this season. In the quarterfinals, Breakers lost to the top Division 2 squad, South (Torrance) 24-26, 19-25. In the fifth place game, Breakers swept a Division 1 league champion West Ranch (20-8) 25-18, 25-13.
Final Redondo standings ….
- Oak Park, 2. Newbury Park, 3. Mira Costa, South Torrance, 5. Laguna Beach, Palos Verdes
- Saddleback Valley Christian, West Ranch, 9. La Costa Canyon, San Clemente, 11. El Segundo, Santa Monica
- Redondo, El Camino Real, Palisades, Great Oak, 17. Calabasas, 18. Coronado (NV), 19. Laguna Hills
- Cerritos, 21. Cathedral Catholic , 22. Rio Mesa, 23. Burroughs, West Torrance, 25. Carlsbad
- Peninsula, 27. Poway, 28. Oxnard, 29. Torrance, 30. Valencia/Valencia,31. Oaks Christian, Foothill
During the tournament, Pete Obradovich became Laguna’s career rally scoring era kill leader, notching his 842nd against Newbury Park in the disputed third set and breaking the record set by Robbie McKnight 2008-11. High school volleyball switched to rally scoring from side-out scoring in 2004, which substantially reduced the number of plays in a match, season and career. Current records are for matches played using the new format.
