PREP BOYS VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS

Prep Boys Volleyball Playoffs: Eagles fall one win short of replicating last season

Arroyo Grande can’t match program best quarterfinal berth of a year ago, falls to Claremont in second round

After winning its first outright PAC 7 title in program history and denying rival San Luis Obispo a share of a league title for the first time in six seasons, the Arroyo Grande boys volleyball team was unable to match it’s record playoff performance of a season ago.

After a program-best run to the quarterfinals last season, the Eagles fell in the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division II playoffs Tuesday at James Gym, suffering a 3-1 loss to Claremont (22-25, 25-18, 22-25, 21-25).

Trevor Salas had 11 kills, and setter Michael Glass notched 29 assists to lead the Eagles (14-2) as he has done all year.

Arroyo Grande coach Laurel Allen was impressed with the performance of her PAC 7 first-team setter.

“He delivered great sets and played his heart out,” Allen said.

Chad McDade also had 11 kills and added three blocks.

The Eagles were looking to equal their run from last season, where they triumphed over Santa Ynez on the road in the second round.

But unforced errors and missed serves Tuesday proved costly in a game that “could have gone either way,” Allen said.

Arroyo Grande never lost a game by more than four points and were backed by a frenzied home crowd.

Allen was optimistic about the future of the program and noted the great play of some standout freshmen and sophomores who played on the junior varsity team.

“The program will continue to get stronger and stronger,” Allen said, “but that doesn’t take away from how proud I am of this team.”

Buchanan 3, Mission Prep 0

The No. 2 seed proved to be too much for the No. 15 seeded Mission Prep as Buchanan swept the Royals 25-11, 25-20, 25-12 in the CIF-Central Section playoffs in Clovis.

“It was very lopsided but we had some good rallies, some blocks and kills and digs,”

Royals coach Michelle Lakey said. “Buchanan’s a very quick offense, it took us a little while to catch on.”

Mission Prep’s Jerry Casey floored 11 kills and came up with 10 digs against the Division I powerhouse that entered the game with a 27-6 overall, and 9-1 league record. Teammate Sean Robinson assisted 16 times with five digs and two kills of his own, and fellow Royal Drew Ellerson had three kills, nine digs, a block and an ace.

Lakey said that she told her team to make “realistic goals” with regards to blocking and passing going into the match.

“I think they (Royals) were surprised at how many points they got off of (Buchanan),” Lakey said. “It was a little intimidating but they stuck it out ... they didn’t just give up.”

The Royals finish their season with a 5-9 overall record. “Each year we’re getting better,” Lakey said.

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