Balboa Bay wins two titles

ATLANTA — Teams representing the Balboa Bay Volleyball Club have earned two titles and a runner-up showing in the 30th USA Junior Olympic Boys’ Volleyball Championships at the Georgia World Congress Center.

Balboa Bay 16 Quiksilver won the 16-year-old Open Gold Division title Sunday, while Balboa Bay 15 Quiksilver captured the 15-year-old crown Monday.

The local club’s 18-year-old team was defeated in the Open Gold Division title match on Saturday.

The 16-year-old champions were paced by tournament Most Valuable Player Cody Caldwell, who as a sophomore was the Newport-Mesa Player of the Year at Newport Harbor High.

Also on the 16-year-old all-tournament team from Balboa Bay were Newport Harbor High standouts Ian Sequeira and Rusty Sary, as well as Corona del Mar High player Spencer Haly.

Tournament MVP Parker Brown paced the Balboa 15-year-old champions.

Also representing Balboa on the 15-year-old all-tournament team were Dillon Hoffman, Kyle Bailey, and Jack Reed.

The Balboa 18 Quiksilver squad, coached by UC Irvine head man John Speraw, included all-tournament performers Connor Hughes, Ian Castellano and Tanner Jansen.

Hughes, from Mater Dei High, and Castellano, from San Clemente High, have signed to play collegiately at UCI, the reigning NCAA champion.

Jansen, out of Santa Margarita High, is bound for USC.

Balboa Bay 18 white team members Chris Trefzger (Mater Dei bound for USC) and Torey Davin were also all-tournament performers in their age group.

The victorious 16-year-old team, coached by Richard Polk, defeated Halcones de Torrimar of Puerto Rico, 25-11, 25-14, in the final. The locals, for whom former CdM High and OCC standout Kevin Welch is an assistant coach, defeated the Southern California Volleyball Club, 25-22, 25-18, in the semifinals.

The Balboa Bay 16 Quiksilver roster also included Ryan Baine, Riley Murphy, Michael Brinkley, Alek Burk, Taylor Hammond, Evan Dean (CdM High), Mitchell Vallis, and Parker Kalmbach.

The Balboa Bay 15 Quiksilver squad, guided by Coach Glenn Culver, defeated Pitirres of Puerto Rico, 25-16, 26-24, in the title match. The local unit defeated Halcones de Torrimer, 27-25, 25-23, in the semifinals.

The victorious 15-year-old team also included Dillon Hoffman, Eric Johnson, Connor Leggett (Newport Harbor), Jo Ko and Josef Ctvrtlik.

Orange Coast College Coach Travis Turner, the director of the Balboa Bay program, is listed as an assistant coach on the 15-year-old team.

Balboa Bay defended its titles in the 15 and 16 divisions.

The Balboa Bay 18 Quiksilver team, which won the tournament last year, was defeated by the OC Riptides, 27-25, 25-22, in the final.

The locals topped Pali 18 Kaepa, 25-22, 25-17, in the semifinals.

No roster for the Balboa Bay 18 team was available.

— From staff reports