Deborah Isaia has coached volleyball at Montgomery High School since 2007. The Aztecs boys team has been a power in the South Bay League, winning five consecutive titles from 2012-16.
The girls team advanced to the San Diego Section Division IV championship game in 2013 to provide a highlight at the level beyond league play.
The boys team made history Wednesday night at the level beyond league play by sweeping visiting Canyon Crest Academy in the Division II semifinals to advance to its first section championship game in school history.
Third-seeded Montgomery defeated 10th-seeded Canyon Crest Academy 25-20, 25-13, 28-26 to go where no other Aztec boys team has gone before.
For Isaia, now having both the girls and boys teams advance to the CIF final, has to be extremely satisfying as well as vindicate the work she’s done with the program.
“We work really hard and do the best with what we have,” she said. “We don’t usually get a lot of club players but this year we did get a couple. What I get here is a lot of heart.”
The Aztecs (22-6) will play fifth-seeded San Dieguito Academy (24-16) Saturday at 11 a.m. in St. Augustine High School’s new gymnasium to determine which team walks off the court with this year’s Division II championship trophy.
San Dieguito Academy upset top-seeded St. Augustine 24-26, 25-23, 25-19, 25-22 in Wednesday’s semifinals. The Mustangs, who also pulled off an upset win in the quarterfinals by eliminating fourth-seeded San Pasqual, won the Division III section title in 2016 by defeating Castle Park.
Montgomery advanced to Wednesday’s semifinal playoff game after eliminating 11th-seeded Patrick Henry in last Saturday’s quarterfinals, winning in a three-game sweep.
Canyon Crest Academy, meanwhile, pulled upsets in its opening two playoff matches by upending seventh-seeded Granite Hills in four games in the opening round on May 9 and knocking off second-seeded Helix in five games in the quarterfinals.
But the Ravens’ string of upset wins would stop there.
The hosts rolled out some heavy hitting on Wednesday, taking advantage of Canyon Crest Academy mishits and mistakes.
The Ravens did challenge the Aztecs in the seesaw third game in which both teams had chances to record game point before turning the ball back over to their opponent to keep the match alive.
Montgomery finally scored back-to-back points with the teams tied 26-all to put the game away … and start celebrating a piece of history at the Otay Mesa school.
“Thank goodness, we were able to take care of business,” Isaia noted in a sense of relief after watching her team repeatedly hand serve back to the visitors, who were desperate to keep their season going.
Trevor Jurlina led the hosts with 16 kills while Jesse Rodriguez recorded 15 kills.
Rene Vela recorded 39 assists while Dennis Baltazar had three blocks.
The most impressive statistic came in digs, which were spread around the team. Rodriguez and Sean So each recorded 12 digs, while Jurlina had 10 digs and Vela had nine digs.
Rodriguez and Jurlina both received first team all-Mesa League honors while Vela earned recognition on the all-league second team.
Montgomery finished third in this year’s Mesa League standings behind league champion Otay Ranch and runner-up Eastlake, which also finds itself in this weekend’s CIF championship round.
Eastlake, seeded second in the Division I field, defeated third-seeded Rancho Bernardo in five games in Wednesday’s semifinals 25-21, 25-22, 22-25, 26-28, 15-11.
Otay Ranch finished 11-1 in Mesa League play, followed by Eastlake at 10-2 and Montgomery at 9-3. At one point in the season, all three teams were tied for the league lead.
“It was a close season,” Isaia said. “It was an exciting league season. We played some tough, aggressive teams. This was our second year in the league and we were able to compete. We were the only team to take a win away from Otay Ranch. It made us who we are.”
Otay Ranch ended its season with a loss to third-seeded Westview in last Saturday’s third round of double-elimination play in the Open Division playoffs. The Mustangs lost in five games to finish their season 22-12 in the win-loss column.
Eastlake (18-8) will face off against fifth-seeded Cathedral Catholic (11-18) in Saturday’s Division I championship game at 1:30 p.m., also at St. Augustine High School.
The Dons upset top-seeded Torrey Pines (21-14) in four games 28-26, 11-25, 25-22, 25-22 to draw the title game matchup against the Titans.
This is the fifth time in school history that Eastlake has advanced to the CIF championship round. The Titans finished runner-up to Francis Parker in the Division III final in 1995, then defeated Scripps Ranch to win the Division II championship in 1999.
Eastlake placed runner-up to Valhalla in the Division II title game in 2001.
Otay Ranch defeated Eastlake to win the Division I championship in 2013.
Eastlake and Cathedral Catholic have not met this season.
The Titans looked slick and polished in taking the opening two games in Wednesday’s semifinal match. The Broncos won the next two games, however, to tied the series at two wins apiece, thus forcing a deciding fifth game.
Eastlake rallied to win the tiebreaker with a balanced team attack.
Junior Jano Tello paced the victorious Titans with 14 kills and three serving aces while senior Joe Picone tacked on nine kills.
Cormack Williams led RB with 30 kills while teammate Nick Fries recorded 12 kills. Colin Cutright had five blocks for the Broncos.
EHS coach Alex Garibay credited resilient play on the part of his team to record the five-game victory.
The Titans received a bye to this year’s quarterfinals and hosted seventh-seeded Poway. Eastlake prevailed in four games in the clash of the Titans, capturing the best-of-five series 25-19, 25-21, 26-28, 25-22.
Poway finished its season 12-20.
Boys volleyball playoffs deliver exciting matchups
Thirteen South County teams, including nine from the Metro Conference, earned the right to play for the top prize in their divisions by earning admission to this year’s section playoffs.
First-round competition began May 8 in Division III and Division IV, followed by first-round competition in Division I and Division II.
Seven of those 13 local teams earned passage to the second round of competition
Quarterfinals took place May 11, in both Division III and Division IV, and May 12, in Division I and Division II.
Semifinals followed Tuesday, May 15, in Division III and Division IV and Wednesday, May 16, in Division I and Division II.
Championship games are scheduled Friday, May 18 (Division IV at 5 p.m. and Division III at 7:30 p.m.) and Saturday, May 19 (Division II at 11 a.m., Division I at 1:30 p.m. and Open Division at 6 p.m.).
The double-elimination Open Division tournament began with opening-round play on May 8. Second-round play took place on May 10, with winners advancing to the third round on May 12.
Fourth-round play was scheduled May 15. If necessary, a fifth round was scheduled on Thursday, May 17.
Prior to the Open Division final, a state play-in game is scheduled to take place at 4 p.m.
Open Division
Mesa League champion Otay Ranch received the No. 6 seed in the double-elimination bracket after finishing 11-1 in league play.
The other seven teams to gain entry to this year’s Elite Eight Open Division playoffs include top-seeded La Jolla (31-4), second-seeded La Costa Canyon (25-7), third-seeded Westview (24-8),b fourth-seeded Point Loma (28-6), fifth-seeded Sage Creek (26-6), seventh-seeded Mt. Carmel (19-9) and eighth-seeded Francis Parker (19-9).
Palomar League champion Westview swept Otay Ranch by scores of 25-18, 25-17, 25-14 in the opening round to push the Mustangs into the double-elimination match against Mt. Carmel.
Second-round matchups included Otay Ranch versus Mt. Carmel and Point Loma versus Francis Parker in the losers bracket and La Jolla versus Sage Creek and La Costa Canyon versus Westview in the winner’s bracket.
Otay Ranch wrapped up regular season play with a three-game sweep over visiting Bonita Vista on May 3. The Mustangs won by scores of 25-16, 25-20, 25-13 on Senior Night to improve to 21-10 on the season.
Prior to that, Otay Ranch won a five-game thriller over visiting Eastlake on May 1 to take over sole possession of first place in the league standings. The Mustangs trailed the Titans, 2-1, before rallying to capture the series on the strengths of 26-24 and 15-11 victories in the final two games.
Seniors Roan Sharkey and Logan Clark led Otay Ranch with nine kills each in the win over Bonita Vista. Senior Ariel Asignacion recorded 15 digs while junior Tyson Duran collected 13 assists.
Clark (18 kills) and Sharkey (12 kills) led the Mustangs in attacking in the comeback win over Eastlake while Sharkey also recorded three serving aces and six blocks.
Junior Joel Aninipok tallied 42 digs while Sebastian Morales led the team with 28 assists
Clark led Otay Ranch with 318 kills during the regular season, followed by Sharkey (197 kills) and fellow senior Ben Daniels (196 kills).
Daniels paced the team with 50 aces while Sharkey had 85 blocks.
Aninipok topped the Mustangs with 365 digs, followed by Clark (216), Asignacion (180) and Daniels with (159).
Following the opening round loss to Westview, the Mustangs faced Mt. Carmel in a bid to remain in the championship trophy hunt.
Otay Ranch won opening game 25-19, lost the second game 25-21, won the third game 25-20, but then lost the fourth 25-21 to force a deciding fifth game in the marathon matchup. The Mustangs got out to an early lead in the tiebreaker and held on to post a 15-12 victory to draw Westview in a double-elimination rematch.
Sharkey and Michael Daniels led Otay Ranch with 15 kills in the five-set matchup while Ben Daniels and Tetsuya Vlaming each added 13 kills.
Sharkey and Vlaming each had three blocks while Aninipok contributed 31 digs and Tyson Duran collected 51 assists.
The Mustangs were missing Clark, their season kills-leader, who was unavailable for the May 10 contest.
“We had to step it up,” explained Sharkey, one of nine seniors on the team. “We have a lot of team chemistry and are close, that helps.”
Sharkey has played the goalie position in boys water polo for the past four years and has played the last two seasons on the boys varsity volleyball team.
Despite his success in the pool, he said he prefers playing volleyball.
“It’s more exciting, and it’s not as rigorous as water polo,” he said. “It’s an instant gratification. It’s faster.”
It was certainly a fast turnaround for the reigning Mesa League champions, who had to rematch against a team that had just swept them into the losers bracket.
The second playoff game against Westview proved much closer.
Otay Ranch won the first game against Westview 25-23, then saw the Wolverines take the next two games by scores of 25-19 and 25-21 before rallying for a 25-22 victory to tie the series at two wins apiece.
Westview, however, won the deciding fifth game 15-9 to advance to the division semifinals against second-seeded La Costa Canyon.
LCC (28-7) defeated the Wolverines in four games 23-25, 25-10, 25-23, 25-20.
The Mustangs previously lost to Westview in the opening round of double-elimination play.
Michael Daniels led Otay Ranch with 16 kills in the second matchup against the Wolverines while Clark had 14 kills.
Aninipok Jr. recorded 29 digs while Tyson Duran had 37 assists.
Division III
San Diego Academy and San Ysidro met on May 7 in a play-in game to determine the No. 12 seed for the elimination bracket. SDA won, 3-1, to advance to the opening round match against fifth-seeded Escondido Adventist Academy (14-8).
San Diego Academy, which is located in National City, entered the play-in game with a 6-1 Citrus League record, 10-14 overall.
San Ysidro, which sewed up a third place finish in this year’s South Bay League standings, entered the play-in game with a 6-4 South Bay League record, 14-8 overall.
The Cavaliers won by scores of 25-14, 25-19, 22-25, 25-23.
South Bay League champion Sweetwater (10-0 in league) received the No. 8 seed in the division and hosted ninth-seeded Liberty Charter (7-1 in Frontier League) on May 8.
The matchup of eight and nine seeds expected to close and it was. Liberty Charter, this year’s Frontier League champions, won the first game 25-20. Sweetwater then won the next two games by scores of 25-19 and 25-22.
However, the Lions forced a deciding fifth game by rallying from a 22-20 deficit to win the fourth game 25-23.
The Red Devils benefited from early miscues by the visitors to build an 11-4 lead in the fifth game before going on to claim the five-game set, three games to two, after posting a 15-8 win.
Sweetwater (19-15) advanced to meet top-seeded Classical Academy (24-7) in the quarterfinals.
The Lions ended their season 18-13 overall.
“They were league champs and we were league champs, so I knew it was going to be close,” SuHi head coach Erik Hernandez said. “I think what helped us out (in the deciding fifth game) was our experience. This was our 33rd match. We had played a lot of games against Division I and Division II teams this season. That was a strength for us and also our composure.”
Josh Magtoto led the Devils with 17 kills while Stephen Capuno had seven kills. John Telmo led the hosts with 10 blocks while Warren Walters collected 35 assists.
The Red Devils ended their season with a 3-0 loss to Classical Academy by scores of 25-11, 25-11, 25-16. The Caimans swept fourth-seeded Clairemont in three games in the ensuing semifinals to advance to Friday’s division championship game against third-seeded Fallbrook (18-8).
Chula Vista, this year’s South Bay League runner-up with a 7-3 league record (13-6 overall), received the No. 10 seed in the division and opened the playoffs with a first round matchup at seventh-seeded Valhalla.
The host Norsemen (13-13) defeated the Spartans in three games 25-13, 25-14, 25-23 to advance to meet second-seeded Coronado (21-10) in the quarterfinals.
Division IV
High Tech High Chula Vista (fifth seed), Bayfront Charter (seventh seed) and Mar Vista (eighth seed) all earned home court playoff games in the opening round.
Overall, five local teams qualified for the division playoffs. Southwest received the No. 4 seed while Chula Vista Learning Community Charter received the No. 10 seed.
Three of the five South County-based teams remain in contention heading into the quarterfinals.
High Tech High CV (6-2 in Frontier League play) hosted 12th-seeded Health Sciences (5-3) at the Salt Creek Recreation Center after the Surgeons defeated Warner (9-4) 25-12, 25-18, 25-18 in a play-in game.
However, the Bruins (12-11) could not benefit from the home court advantage after being swept by scores of 25-10, 25-16, 25-11.
Health Sciences (6-3) advanced to meet fourth-seeded Southwest (12-11) in the quarterfinals.
Southwest finished fourth in this year’s South Bay League standings with a 6-4 record.
Bayfront Charter hosted 10th-seeded Chula Vista Learning Community Charter, with the CVLCC recording a 25-6, 25-22, 25-16 sweep to meet second-seeded O’Farrell Charter (25-6) in the quarterfinals.
Bayfront Charter (6-10) finished 4-4 in the Apollo League standings, placing third behind O’Farrell (7-1 in league) and King Chavez Community (5-2 in league).
CVLCC (7-9) finished 3-6 in the Frontier League standings.
Mar Vista, which finished 2-8 in this year’s South Bay League standings, defeated ninth-seeded High Tech High San Diego (5-15) in the opening round, winning in a sweep in Imperial Beach by scores of 25-21, 27-25, 25-19.
The Mariners (8-11) advanced to play top-seeded Madison (15-2) in the quarterfinals.
The Madison-Mar Vista winner advanced to meet the Health Sciences-Southwest winner in the division semifinals.
Madison eliminated Mar Vista by scores of 25-17, 25-9, 25-13 while Southwest eliminated Health Sciences in four games by scores of 21-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-22.
Madison (17-2) then eliminated Southwest 25-9, 25-17, 25-12 to advance to Friday’s division championship game against third-seeded Mission Vista (12-16-1).
Southwest finished its season 14-12 with the semifinal setback.
