The Otay Ranch High School boys volleyball team clinched at least a share of this year’s Metro-Mesa League championship by defeating host Bonita Vista 25-20, 25-19, 25-20 Friday afternoon. The league championship, either sole or shared with another team, is the 10th consecutive for the Mustangs, according to ORHS coach Bowie Haug.
Otay Ranch will determine whether it shares this year’s league title with another team when it hosts the arch rival Eastlake Titans next Friday, May 8, at 4:15 p.m.
The Mustangs stunned preseason favorite Eastlake by capturing a 3-2 road decision over the Titans last month.
Haug said Friday’s win at BVHS, the runner-up in last year’s San Diego Section Division IV championship game, was a key one for this team.
“It was nice to get to the co-championship (stage),” said Haug, whose team improved to 28-8 overall. “This was supposed to be Eastlake’s year. For us to go into their place and beat them was huge. Even if we lose to Eastlake (in the regular season finale), we’re at least co-champions.”
The Mustangs are hoping for a league sweep against the high powered Titans, who made a statement within the San Diego Section by recently defeating Cathedral Catholic in a non-league match-up.
Eddie Rosenfeld led Otay Ranch with eight kills in the win over Bonita Vista while Josh Kritsanajootha had 14 digs and Derek Gascon had 32 assists.
On the season, Ahan Murtaza leads Otay Ranch with 199 kills, followed by Efrain Sharkey with 186 kills and Rosenfeld with 175 kills. Sharkey leads the team with 39 aces while Rosenfeld leads the team with 47 blocks. Kritsanjootha is the team leader with 319 digs while Gascon is the team leader with 631 assists.
The Mustangs improved their league record to 7-0 while the Barons fell to 2-5 in league play.
Both Otay Ranch and Eastlake are battling for inclusion in the section’s elite Open Division playoffs. The loser of next Friday’s regular season finale could find itself dropped to the Division I field. Still, that would be no dishonor, as either team would likely be the No. 1 seed in that division and vying for a division championship.
Haug said motivation for the team’s highly successful season thus far has been led by its senior players, who will be honored on Senior Night next Friday.
“We got a group of seniors who were around for our last CIF championship,” the Mustang coach said. “They want to get back to that.”
Otay Ranch and Eastlake aren’t the only team with championship fortunes in their eyes. Bonita Vista entered the week with the No. 1 power ranking in the Division II field. Friday’s loss dropped the Barons to 13-7 on the season, with four of those losses to either the high-powered Mustangs or Titans.
BVHS coach Anthony Harrington is proud of what his team has accomplished this season.
“We have three returning players who had quality minutes last year,” Harrington said. “To get a No. 1 position in the rankings is an accomplishment for the hard work put in by this group.”
Eastlake improved to 6-1 in league play after sweeping visiting Bonita Vista on Tuesday. The Titans take a 13-6 overall record into this weekend’s Redondo Union Varsity Classic tournament.
Metro-Mesa League Boys Volleyball Standings
Otay Ranch Mustangs 7-0, 28-8
Eastlake Titans 6-1, 13-6
Olympian Eagles 2-4, 10-9
Bonita Vista Barons 2-5, 13-7
Mater Dei Catholic Crusaders 0-7, 0-9
Metro-Pacific League Boys Volleyball Standings
Chula Vista Spartans 3-0, 17-3
Hilltop Lancers 2-1, 18-8
Castle Park Trojans 2-2, 11-5
Sweetwater Red Devils 0-4, 10-16
Metro-South Bay League Boys Volleyball Standings
Montgomery Aztecs 2-1, 12-12
Mar Vista Mariners 2-1, 3-14
San Ysidro Cougars 1-1, 2-5
Southwest Raiders 0-2, 0-8
