Valley Christian boys volleyball team sweeps its way into Division 3 title match

CERRITOS >> Valley Christian High boys volleyball coach Jason Kwak told his team it would likely be locked in a five-set affair against top-seeded Quartz Hill on Wednesday night in the CIF Southe Section Division 3 semifinals.

He got a much quicker performance than expected, however, as the Crusaders (26-2) dominated the first two sets and then erased deficits of 20-15 and 23-19 during the third set in a 25-22, 25-17, 25-23 sweep at home.

Junior outside hitter Miller Davis served out the final six points to seal it, including a match-wiing ace.

“It was a welcome surprise,” the coach said. “They’re a No. 1 team. They’re a great team.”

“Towards the end of the game the guys were getting jittery,” he said of the third set. “When things didn’t go their way they started faltering a little bit, and I told them ‘Settle down, get back, just keep the ball in and just play our volleyball.’ ”

Just when it looked as if Quartz Hill would regain some momentum and pull out the third set after building its lead and taking some of the steam away from V.C.’s wild crowd, the Crusaders made their final run, ensuring there would be no chance for the match to slip away.

Senior Spencer Fredrick led the way with 12 kills and two aces, while Davis added nine kills, Gio Morandini had six and Kyle Anema notched eight to go with three aces.

Ryan Norris paced the Rebels (25-3) with 11 kills and Jason Eslinger added 11.

After having to outlast El Segundo in five sets after taking a two-set set in the quarterfinals, Fredrick said his team did not want to be put back in that position this time around after taking a commanding lead.

“Up two sets and then giving up two (against El Segundo), it really motivated us to just finish it out right now, we knew we could,” he said. “Our coach told us this is our game to win so, we just hunkered down and played.”

The Crusaders will take on Cathedral, which defeated Santa Monica 3-2, in the final on Saturday at Cerritos College.

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