No quit in them

Mike Sciacca

Curt Hanson stood at midcourt, shaking his head as if amazed, just

moments after his Laguna Beach High boys’ volleyball team had

eliminated a stunned Villa Park squad Tuesday night in the second

round of the CIF Southern Section Division II playoffs.

“We just battled,” he said at midcourt, amazed at his team’s

fortitude as it fought back to defeat the Spartans, 7-15, 15-13,

15-7, 17-15, at Laguna.

In a match that contained more twists and turns, spins and

rallies, it was Laguna which survived to advance to today’s

quarterfinal round.

The Breakers (17-16) will take the long road, too, as they journey

north to the city of Valencia to battle top-ranked Valencia in a 7

p.m. start.

Laguna opened the playoffs with a 15-11, 15-5, 15-7 sweep of

visiting El Modena on May 16.

“There’s just no quit with this team,” Hanson said. “We were down

but our guys really showed what they are made of.

“I think the matches we’ve played all season -- and we have lost

to some very, very good teams -- have made this team tough.”

Hanson, as well as a few of his players, likened the second-round

battle to that of their final regular season match at Pacific Coast

League rival University.

In that May 8 match, the Breakers got spanked, 15-2, in the first

game but came back to win the next three in a crucial showdown where

the winner would get the PCL’s No. 2 seed in the playoffs.

The Breakers, ranked eighth in the final Division II poll, showed

their stamina after getting dumped by Villa Park, 15-7, in the first

game.

“I saw shades of the University match after that first game,” said

Matt Anderson, a senior outside hitter. “We played terribly. But

there’s something about this team. Just as we did against Uni, we

just beared down tonight and got it done. What a relief.”

In the second game, Laguna was at match point, 14-10, before Villa Park (17-4) pulled within 14-13. But Nick Aronoff’s put away

prevented Laguna from falling behind, 0-2, in games as the Breakers

held on for a 15-13 win.

Following a 15-7 triumph in the third game, no game better

personified Laguna’s resolve than the fourth.

In fact, it’s hard to explain how the Breakers came back from a

14-7 deficit -- and a point shy from having a fifth and final game

decide the fate of their season.

Laguna trailed throughout the fourth game as the Spartans were

blocking well at the net and using the hitting of Chase Prather to

open up a 5-0 lead.

The Breakers managed to gain a tie at 6-6 on a Aronoff put away

but Villa Park came back for a 9-6 lead. Following another Aronoff

put away that made the score 9-7, it was all Spartans. They ripped

off five straight points and sat at game point, leading, 14-7.

It never happened.

Instead, an incredible chain of sequences by the Breakers ensued.

“I did not call a timeout,” Hanson said. “I refused to let them

bail. I just wanted them to battle, and the kids did.

“We started serving tougher and our intensity level rose. It was

risky coaching, but I believed in what I was doing.”

Nick Glavas gave Laguna a point on a put back and Anderson’s kill

made it a 14-9 game. A net violation by the Spartans led to another

point, making it 14-10.

With Talan Torriero serving, another Anderson kill followed and a

put back brought the Breakers to within 14-12. Prather, however, came

up with a kill to present Villa Park with a side out and another shot

at match point.

Anderson came to the rescue again, his kill giving the ball back

to Laguna. When Prather’s return volley went into the net, the

Breakers had another point and closed to within 14-13.

The Spartans did get another chip at match point when David

Helberg dropped a shot just inside the back line, but an Anderson

kill gave Laguna the ball back.

With Anderson serving, Trey Chapel’s put back was blocked at the

net by Helberg but his deflection sailed out of bounds, allowing

Laguna to score its fifth-straight point to tie the game at 14-14.

When the Spartans’ Phil Sims was long on his put back attempt,

Laguna had its first lead of the game, 15-14.

Villa Park, however, did tie the match at 15-15 on Trevor Tam’s

put away.

The teams traded side outs before a Torriero put back gave Laguna

the ball. With Aronoff serving, Chapel’s put away made it 16-15, and

Glavas’ put away finally did put away the Spartans and secured

another quarterfinal appearance for Laguna.

Chapel and Anderson had 24 kills each and Glavas finished with 10.

Luke Morris led the Breakers in digs with 16, Torriero had 11 and

Chapel had 10.

Aronoff topped Laguna in set assists with 48 and Clark Olson added

22.