Granite Hills High School boys volleyball coach Pete Phillips likes the new competition-tiered structure of the San Diego Section playoffs. His Eagles have certainly performed admirably through the opening two rounds in the Division II field.
Fifth-seeded Granite Hills aced visiting 12th-seeded University City in three games in first-round play on May 12 and spiked host fourth-seeded Hilltop in four games Friday, May 15, in quarterfinal-round play.
The Eagles (17-11) advance to meet top-seeded El Camino (25-9) in semifinal-round play on Tuesday, May 19. The winner advances to the division championship game Saturday, May 23, at 1 p.m. at Cathedral Catholic High School.
“I really like the new structure,” Phillips explained. “It gives all teams an opportunity to make the playoffs. The power ranking system seems fair to everyone and places teams in divisions where they belong. I really like the fact that we now have a true city champion (Open Division) drawn from both public and private schools.”
Junior middle blocker McCay Walker racked up 15 kills in the win over University City and tied teammate Trevor Neuenswander with 13 kills in the victory against Hilltop.
Noah Joubert tacked on 10 kills against Hilltop while Kamrin Higgins contributed 39 assists and Blake Roberts recorded 18 digs.
Walker, at six-foot-eight, and Neuenswander, at six-foot-six, towered over most of the host Lancers.
Granite Hills won the first game 25-18 to take a 1-0 lead. Hilltop then captured the second game 25-21 to even the match at a win apiece.
However, the Eagles won the next two games 25-22 and 25-17 to eliminate the higher-seeded Lancers.
Phillips attributed team chemistry as the spark that has driven his team to a 2-0 record so far in the playoffs.
“You see it at all levels in sports – you can have the best players but without that team chemistry it doesn’t matter,” the GHHS coach said. “These guys are like brothers. There’s no selfish player on the team.”
For Hilltop, it was another case of one and done in the CIF playoffs. Lancer head coach Tyler Reaves freely admitted his team did not play at its best.
“If we don’t serve well, we don’t win,” he offered. “We didn’t get any points off our transition defense. When we’d get the ball, we’d give it right back.”
It was apparent that Hilltop just didn’t play with the same spark the team displayed in its win a week earlier at Sweetwater to secure this year’s Metro-Pacific League co-championship.
That excitement might have worn off a bit. The Lancers received a first-round bye in the playoffs and went exactly one week between competitive games.
“We had a great practice yesterday and I thought we’d be ready,” Reaves assessed. “I thought we’d be seeded lower (and have a first round game). But we got the fourth seed, which is OK, but I’m not a fan of it.”
Luis Hernandez led the Lancers with 11 kills while teammate Daniel Franco had 10 kills and Joseph Valadez contributed 39 assists.
Hilltop finishes the season with a 21-9 overall record, including a 5-1 mark in league play.
Reaves sees the loss to Granite Hills as a growth opportunity for his team.
“Next year, we’re gunning for Division II,” he said. “We’ll have everybody back. We have no seniors.”
CIF notepad
A total of three Metro Conference teams were in action in Tuesday’s Division II quarterfinals. All three ended their seasons there.
Third-seeded Bonita Vista (13-9) dropped a 3-2 decision to sixth-seeded Valley Center (17-4) while ninth-seeded Montgomery (22-14) lost three straight (25-17, 25-11, 25-10) to El Camino.
Devon Pontigon led El Camino with 16 kills while teammate Christian Caimpon had 30 assists.
Trojans collect four-set win over Vaqueros
In a quarterfinal-round game originally scheduled for Saturday but played Friday, top-seeded Castle Park (12-7) defeated ninth-seeded El Capitan in four games to advance to the Division IV semifinals.
The Trojans will host fourth-seeded Del Lago Academy (20-11) on Wednesday, May 20, at 7 p.m., after the Firebirds eliminated the fifth-seeded Chula Vista Learning Community Charter Cobras (10-3) in Saturday’s quarterfinals.
Kill leaders during regular season play for Castle Park included Oscar Pacheco (96), William Alvarez (74) and Adolfo Medina (56). Pacheco also led the Trojans with 16 aces while Abraham Rodriguez paced the team with 187 assists.
San Diego Section Playoff Scoreboard
Open Division
Quarterfinals
Saturday, May 16
(3) Mt. Carmel at (6) Otay Ranch, 3 p.m.
(7) Eastlake at (2) La Jolla, 5 p.m.
Division II
First round
Tuesday, May 12
(9) Montgomery defeated (8) Patrick Henry 3-0, advances to quarterfinals
(10) Santa Fe Christian defeated (7) Olympian 3-0, advances to quarterfinals
Quarterfinals
Friday, May 15
(1) El Camino defeated (9) Montgomery 3-0, advances to semifinals
(5) Granite HIlls defeated (4) Hilltop, advances to semifinals
(6) Valley Center defeated (3) Bonita Vista 3-2, advances to semifinals
(2) Valhalla defeated (10) Santa Fe Christian 3-0, advances to semifinals
Division III
First round
Wednesday, May 13
(8) San Dieguito Academy defeated (9) Sweetwater 3-0, advances to quarterfinals
(5) Escondido Charter defeated (12) Mater Dei Catholic 3-0, advances to quarterfinals
Quarterfinals
Saturday, May 16
(10) San Diego at (2) Chula Vista, 5 p.m.
Division IV
First round
Wednesday, May 13
(5) Chula Vista Learning Community Charter defeated (12) Chula Vista High Tech 3-1, advances to quarterfinals
Quarterfinals
Fridday, May 15
(1) Castle Park defeated (9) El Capitan 3-1, advances to semifinals
Saturday, May 16
(5) Chula Vista Learning Community Charter at (4) Del Lago Academy, 5 p.m.
