Bellflower, Warren boys volleyball teams win early league clashes

CERRITOS >> In a clash of undefeated top dogs in the Suburban League, the Bellflower High School boys volleyball team outlasted Cerritos in a thrilling five set match. After dropping the first two sets on the road at Cerritos, the Buccaneers battled back and cruised to a fifth-set win to take sole possession of first place in the Suburban League, 14-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-18, 15-9.

“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Bellflower coach Henry Chen said. “We haven’t leaed how to execute perfectly yet, but the effort is definitely there.”

Bellflower, which graduated four starters off of last year’s team, found a way to stay undefeated at 5-0. The Dons dropped to 4-1.

Bellflower didn’t have an answer for Cerritos in the first two sets as the Dons stuck to their defensive game plan and looked comfortable doing it. Hard hitting from the outsides, Jack Hammond and Joshua Reyes, gave Cerritos a commanding 2-0 lead.

But in a tough back-and-forth third set, Bellflower leaned heavily on outside hitter Edgar Sanchez, whose consistent hitting put a lot of pressure on the Dons’ back line. The senior had 12 kills in the final three sets, five of them coming in the third set.

After the Buccaneers were able to take the third set, the momentum shifted in Bellflower’s favor. The defensive intensity began to pick up as the Buccaneers’ defense never gave Cerritos a clean look at the net. Bellflower had no problem in a fourth set win and kept that momentum rolling into the fifth.

“We have our shortcomings and we’re still leaing how to play better as a team,” Chen said. “But this team knows how to compete.”

The Buccaneers built a 7-3 lead at the begiing of the fifth set.

The two heavyweights will meet again on April 26 at Bellflower.

WARREN 3, GAHR 1 >> The road to the San Gabriel Valley League championship has run through Warren and Gahr. The Bears and Gladiators have been on top the last several years and on Tuesday they met in an early SGVL clash with big implications.

After a back-and-forth match, it was Warren that prevailed, 26-24, 21-25, 25-13, 25-19.

“We’ve been playing better, but we’re not peaking yet,” Bears coach Scott Lane said. “We’re just trying to get a little momentum.”

Warren took a tight first set, but Gahr bounced back strong in the second set, led by senior Niko Lopez, who set a much-improved offense. He finished with 43 assists and 15 digs.

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But Warren’s passing was superior in the final two sets and the Bears had an easy time digging up everything that Gahr could throw at them, holding the Gladiators to just six kills in the set.

“This is always a good match because it’s one of us for the league title,” Bears outside hitter Oscar Castellanos said.

For Gahr, there were promising signs, but not enough consistency.

“They did an excellent job in their system,” coach Iris Najera said. “I was impressed with them and I’m excited for our next round. The good thing for us is we get two rounds.”

Both teams are ranked in the CIF Southe Section Division 3 poll with Warren (16-4, 2-0) at No. 3, and Gahr at No. 8.

The teams will play again at Warren on April 21.