New to the top 25
The latest state and region rankings were released yesterday and can be found here: https://www.cifstate.org/sports/boys_volleyball/notebook/list
There is a new No. 1, Loyola of Los Angeles, which toppled previous No. 1 Mira Costa in four sets on the road last Friday. Sean Kelly, considered by many to be the best player in the country, had 30 kills for the Cubs, including the clincher in the 25-23, 23-25, 25-16, 25-17 win.
“Well, Sean Kelly’s the best player in the country for a reason,” Mustangs coach Greg Snyder told the Daily Breeze. “The only thing you can do is try to serve their team and get him out of system and make the sets not as good as he likes them, but even with that he’s still an incredible player.”
Five teams entered the top 25 this week.
No. 14 Santa Cruz earned its way in after knocking off Valley Christian of San Jose. The Cardinals are 16-0, led by three juniors, outsides Julian Pally and Gammon Nilssen and middle blocker Leo Sapunor. They face a big test next weekend at the Justin Ebner Memorial tournament against some of the best teams from Northern California and beyond.
Santa Cruz is the only undefeated major program left in California.
No. 17 Carlsbad has won five in a row, including a sweep of Del Norte. Parker Tomkinson, a 7-0 senior OH, averages almost four kills per set for the Lancers. MB Roman Payne, who stands 6-11; RS Hayden Hewitt, OH Derek Bashford and setter Ben Sauerwine have also made big contributions.
No. 21 Aragon (16-1) defeated a Carlmont team on Wednesday that, four days earlier, edged Saint Francis of Mountain View. Outsides Cameron Sears and Luke Phillips lead the way for the Dons.
No. 23 Wilson, of Long Beach, made the top 25 by winning the Beach Cities Invitational in La Jolla over the weekend. The Bruins had been playing without their two setters, but got one back recently and have thrived getting the ball to big hitters Marek Turner and Will Morrison.
No. 25 Sage Creek finished second at Beach Cities and knocked off top 10 Torrey Pines on the way to the championship match. Hitters Justin Baldner and Charlie Salmon, libero Ethan Lam and setter Charlie Hartmann were catalysts for the Bobcats.
More about teams in the Region rankings
South Region
Upland graduated the Vogel Twins, Kai and Isiah, but the Highlanders are pressing on – currently – with 6-4 senior AJ Contreras killing it on the outside and junior setter Aiden DuFour showing off his six-rotation ability by leading the team in assists and blocks.
Poly, of Long Beach, dropped out of the South Region rankings this week, but the Jackrabbits are having a fine season after graduating just one off of last year’s 16-12 team. Poly has already matched that win total behind strong pins Lucky Iosua, Matt Tsao and John Hievley.
After winning only seven matches last year, Windward won its first 16 to start 2024 and currently stands 20-2, on the cusp of the region rankings. The Eagles benefited by returning their entire lineup, including setter Zach Klubeck and pins Gabe Sullivan, Matias Ferrell, Maxwell Stotsky and Jack Phelps. The team, which owns wins over Los Angeles Section powers Pailisades, El Camino Real, Eagle Rock and Venice, has gotten a boost from sophomore libero Jonah Nathanson, who has significantly improved team defense. .
Central Region
Carlmont almost made the statewide top 25 this week after wins over the likes of Saint Francis (Mountain View) and Harker. The Scots were 38-6 a year ago and returned everyone, including setter Kevin Tomita, the league MVP; libero Will Won, a digging machine; OH Sean Murphy and MB Devin Engberg. There are 10 seniors on the roster. The time is now.
Lynbrook is 11-10 so far playing a very competitive schedule. The Vikings are led by senior setter Alex Lee and senior OH Benjamin Chind, but also have a strong underclass group that will keep them in contention beyond this season.
Los Altos won 24 matches and its league a year ago. The Eagles are 14-7 with senior OH Aidan Cuppett averaging almost six kills per set and leading the team in aces, and sophomore Dexter Hatfield filling in well at setter for the graduated Ethan Choe.
Senior Trent Taliafero is first on JSerra Catholic’s team in kills, aces and blocks and second in assists. The Lions are 15-7 on the year and a signature win away from breaking into the state top 25.
North Region
Rio Americano shot way up in this week’s North Region rankings after finishing second to San Marcos (Santa Barbara) at the Dos Pueblos Tournament. The team, which was 26-6 a year ago and undefeated in league play, relies heavily on hitters Grayson Albers and Joey Thalken.
Grayson Albers (left) and Joey Thalken show off their all-tournament gear after helping to lead Rio American to a second-place showing at the Dos Pueblos Tournament in Santa Barbara.
Woodcreek is off to an 11-4 start after 25 wins a year ago. Brian Jew’s team graduated three impact players, but is making do behind strong senior setter Andrew Taylor, junior outsides Brody Krupp and Tim Karanja, senior RS Giovanni Akyuz and a libero, senior Sutter Swope, who is as crafty as he is smart.
Foothill of Pleasanton won 30 matches last year and won the tough EBAL and was second in Division 1 of the North Coast Section. The Falcons are 16-5 out of the gate in 2024, a surprising start given that Dusty Collins’ team graduated five starters. Four seniors, libero Nolan Mitzenmacher, middles Kayan Vohra and Caden Stedman and OH Casey Collins have been anchors for this team. Sophomore Josh Salonga, a newcomer to varsity, has been a stalwart running the offense.
Castro Valley (17-3) is senior heavy. MB Lukas Winn, who stands 6-6; has been a key hitting and blocking threat for the Trojans, with fellow seniors Owen Santiago, Michael Ly, Braden Lew, Grant Guiomar and Cooper Matthews also making significant contributions.
Gonna fly now
The inaugural Rocky Ciareli Invitational took place on Saturday at Huntington Beach HS. The legendary Orange County coach died last February at age 66.
At the event, pitting state-ranked teams against one another, Edison beat Tesoro in four, Newport Harbor did the same to Redondo Union and Corona del Mar outlasted Huntington Beach in a five-set thriller that went 27-25 in the fifth set! Sterling Foley had 38 kills in the match.
“This event was something [HB head coach] Craig Pazanti and I have been discussing and planning for many months,” said Newport coach Andrew Mabry. “This first edition was a special night to gather and remember a legend and compete with great So Cal High School volleyball. Rocky started his coaching career at Edison, then a legendary run at HB, and finished at Newport Harbor, leading the boys to the 2019 CIF, State, and National Championship Titles. So having those three programs involved in this inaugural event was important.”
Concord great
De La Salle has won nine straight matches since losing to Foothill of Pleasanton on March 14. The run includes the title at the Nor Cal Invite on March 16 and a win this week over longtime rival Amador Valley.
Senior Luke Nobrego led the way at Nor Cal with 54 kills, 29 digs, eight aces and four blocks. Senior libero Antonio Pinto added 46 digs and sophomore RS Connor Harze added 18 kills, 10 blocks and 27 digs.
Unfortunately, Harze was lost for the season due to injury in the days following the tournament. Antonio Barragan, a middle, has stepped into the role opposite the setter and has done a fabulous job.
De La Salle was impressive in taking the Nor Cal Invitational.
Knights template
After the graduation of three players currently competing collegiately, Ripon Christian had to do some re-loading. The Knights, who were 25-6 in 2023, are 11-3 to start this season. They have won 10 of their past 11 matches.
Senior setter Preston Zuidervaart and senior libero Zach Varni have been rocks for a team that has relied on two sophomores and a junior for firepower,” noted head coach Kevin Tameling. Mason Tameling, who led freshmen nationally in aces last year, has become a major contributor as a sophomore and leads the team in kills, averaging 4.4 per set. Ripon Christian has also seen MB Darren Van Groningen and Isaiah Vander Woude, JV players a year ago, step up and be stalwarts with their blocking and attacking.
In action last night from the top 25…
It was a relatively quiet night for the top teams in the state, but a productive one nonetheless, going a combined 6-0.
The key match saw No. 23 Wilson come from a set down to defeated Long Beach Poly in four, avenging an earlier defeat. Marek Turner, Ian Nolte and Will Morrison each had 17 kills or more for the Bruins in the win.
No. 21 Aragon continued winning. The Dons swept Mills behind 16 kills, six digs and two stuff blocks from Cameron Sears.
No. 22 Del Norte beat Rancho Bernardo, 25-6, in the first set in the Nighthawks’ first matchup this year with the Broncos. Rancho Bernardo is just 2-7 to start the season, but one of its wins is against No. 25 Sage Creek.
No. 8 Tesoro, No. 14 Santa Cruz and No. 18 Cathedral Catholic all registered victories. Tesoro defeated San Juan Hills (18-7-1) for the second time in a little over two weeks, sweeping three close sets from the Stallions, who were playing with a full lineup in league play for the first time. SJH played valiantly in the loss, with Cam Golba, Bryce Chapman and Drew Presser all shining in their roles.
News & notes
Santa Cruz won the Surf City Invitational last weekend, earning impressive wins over Archbishop Mitty, Leigh, Bullard and St. Joseph of Santa Maria. The Cardinals have yet to lose this season, the only ranked team without a loss.
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Desert Christian of Lancaster is now 6-0 in the Heritage League and 8-1 overall, having lost only to tough Paraclete, which also has a win over North Region-ranked Jesuit of Sacramento. In the Knights’ last league match against Trinity Academy, junior OH Colt Schmidt led the team with 21 kills and hit .750.
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Three days after previous No. 1 Mira Costa lost to Loyola, the Mustangs also fell to Corona del Mar. Foley had 32 kills for CDM to spark the four-set win. Freshman MB Daniel Booker, who stands 6-8, has been coming on strong of late and was a key factor in the Mira Costa win as well as the tense win over Huntington Beach.
Corona del Mar stuck together to finish off huge wins this past week over Huntington Beach and Mira Costa.
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At 18-3, Eagle Rock may be the top team in the Los Angeles Section this year. The Eagles own a win over tough St. Francis of La Canada and, on March 6, defeated Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks in five sets. In that match, senior outside hitter Tom Altankhuyag delivered a school-record 50 kills! He now has more than 1,000 kills for his career!
Eagle Rock is impressive in the huddle and on HUDL.