Dons deny Laguna

Mike Sciacca

Trey Chapel succinctly put into perspective what had just transpired

in the Woodbridge High gymnasium Wednesday night.

“I think we thought we had them,” said the Laguna Beach High

senior, who although dejected, held his head high and spoke with

passion following a CIF-Southern Section Division II semifinal

volleyball showdown with Santa Barbara.

His sweat-soaked jersey was indicative of the tense, five-game

battle that had just taken place.

“You can’t give them anything because they’re a big-run team, and

they used a strong finish to beat us,” he said.

Chapel spoke those words moments after Laguna was denied a spot in

Saturday’s championship final by visiting Santa Barbara, which did

finish strongly in posting a 25-22, 17-25, 18-25, 25-19, 15-9 victory in the first meeting between the schools since 1994.

Laguna was looking to advance to a division championship match for

the first time since 1999.

The Breakers came back from an 0-1 deficit in games to win big in

the next two games and seemingly, had momentum on their side of the

court.

But Channel League champion Santa Barbara looked sharp with its

back up against the wall in game No. 4.

Behind key kills from sophomore outside hitter Ric Cervantes and

senior opposite Spencer Boyle, the Dons broke away from an 11-11 tie

to win, 25-19.

Laguna trailed, 7-3, but used three service errors and a net

violation by the Dons and one service ace by Talan Torriero, to pull

into an 11-11 tie.

When Torriero scored on a key block at the net, it brought Laguna

into its final tie of the game at 14-14.

In the fifth and decisive game, the teams were tied 1-1 and for

the last time, at 4-4. Cervantes came up with a service ace and kill

to propel Santa Barbara on a 9-2 run as the Dons bolted to a 13-6

lead.

Boyle’s kill gave the Dons match point.

“It’s a hard one,” first-year Laguna Coach Lance Stewart said. “We

played hard. I can’t think of anything negative to say. Santa

Barbara’s ball control really came through for them at the end, just

as we used ball control to win games two and three.”

After the Dons had taken game No. 1, Laguna’s spirited play led to

25-17 and 25-18 victories, which gave the Breakers a 2-1 edge in

games.

“It kind of was a curse to win those two games like that, because

I think we took it too easy at that point,” said Chapel, as he

accepted handshakes from two Santa Barbara players who had sought him

out after the match.

“I’m bummed now but in my four years at Laguna, this is the

furthest any team I’ve played on has gone in the playoffs,” he said.

“I’m proud of that.”

In his final game, Chapel recorded 12 kills and 16 digs.

Junior Andrew Chapel matched his brother with 12 kills and had 10

digs.

Junior Luke Morris had a big match and finished with 19 kills and

24 digs.

Torriero, a junior, had 11 kills and 13 digs and Clark Olson,

another junior, had 52 set assists.

“I told the kids at the beginning of the year that the hardest

thing to do was win a championship,” Stewart said. “You know, I

didn’t know what to expect from this team this year. I knew we’d be

good because we had a lot of well-rounded players. We only lose three

seniors and we have a great nucleus coming back next year, as well as

a good influx of eighth-graders. I’m looking forward to the future.”

In addition to Trey Chapel, seniors Dalton Combs and Jason Kimball

played their final game for Laguna, which finished second in the

Pacific Coast League.

In 31 years of CIF-SS playoff appearances, Laguna’s postseason

record stands at 67-26.

The program now has made 16 trips to the semifinal round.

Laguna had advanced to Wednesday’s semifinals by showing its moxie

in a stirring, 23-25, 24-26, 25-23, 25-18, 15-12 victory at Santa

Ynez.

“It was quite a haul to get up there but the drive back was

especially nice after getting such a great, comeback win,” Stewart

said. “We lost two tough games to start the match but it was nice to

finish strong. It’s a credit to our kids.”

Andrew Chapel finished with 19 kills and 16 digs, Morris had 19

kills and 15 digs, Trey Chapel had 10 kills and 11 digs, Torriero had

13 kills and nine digs, Chris Hoffman had 13 digs and two kills and

Olson had 57 set assists.

The Santa Ynez program, started in 1993, was making its 12th

consecutive trip to the CIF-SS playoffs. The Pirates have won seven

titles in nine championship game appearances and had reached the

semifinal round on 11 previous occasions.

The loss to Laguna marked their earliest exit from the playoffs.

Laguna also became the first team to win twice at Santa Ynez and

last Friday’s win evened the series between the schools at three wins

apiece.

Santa Ynez had defeated Laguna in the 1999 Division III title

match and in the 2001 Division IV quarterfinal round.