San Clemente boys volleyball team beats Dolphins to repeat as league champions
By Steve Breazeale
Being down two games to one in a volleyball match is not a comfortable spot to be in. But on Thursday the San Clemente boys volleyball team proved again that they are good at rallying out of early deficits.
The Tritons dropped the first two games against Dana Hills in front of their home crowd, but roared back to win three games in a row to take the match 19-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-14, 15-10. The win secured an outright league title for the San Clemente.
When the two teams first met in league play on April 15 at Dana Hills, the Dolphins got out to a 2-0 lead and the Tritons came back to win.
On senior night, San Clemente (18-5, 6-1) was led by their upperclassmen Shawn Stephens and Peter Van Liefde, who recorded 21 and 17 kills, respectively. Junior Brandon Hopper had 11.
Senior setter Nick Goldstone had a standout night, tallying 62 assists in the victory.
If the Dolphins could have held on for the win, it would have resulted in a two-way tie at the top of the standings with both teams having one game left to play. Instead, the Tritons claimed a second consecutive league title, their 10th in 14 years.
The Tritons will travel to play in the Redondo Classic Tournament May 2-3 before returning to league play with a match against Capistrano Valley on May 6.
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