By Zach Cavanagh
With a week off between matches and the first round of what should be battles for the top of the South Coast League on deck, the San Clemente boys volleyball team could have overlooked a down Dana Hills program. Instead, the Tritons kept their focus.
San Clemente came out strong and rolled over Dana Hills in a clean sweep, 25-12, 25-14, 25-23, on Tuesday, March 23, at Dana Hills High School.
“Our guys came out in the first set, and we were on top of everything,” San Clemente coach J Bisch said. “Passes were way better today. Across the board, in terms of the way we’re passing, we can play with anybody like that.”
The largest leads for San Clemente (6-8, 2-0) in each of the first two sets were their final margins at 13 and 11 points, respectively. In the third set, Dana Hills (0-6, 0-2) came out with some fire to hold an early lead against the Tritons’ reserves and played to an 11-11 tie. San Clemente put the clamps down late to push out to the win, 25-23. Dana Hills has lost 19 matches in a row, with their last win in the shortened 2020 season.
“I think we’re still building, but it’s still early,” San Clemente senior Landon Seymour said. “We’ve still got another half a season left. We’re excited. A lot of the guys are excited to play Tesoro on Thursday.”
That match at Tesoro on Thursday, March 24, will be a key first step in the molding of the South Coast League title race.
Tesoro (7-2, 3-0) is currently ranked No. 14 in the CIF-SS Division 1/2 combined poll, and San Clemente is ranked No. 20. The Titans finished second in the South Coast League last season, with their only two losses coming against the Tritons, both sweeps. Tesoro will have plenty to prove against San Clemente at home.
San Clemente continues with another contender on Tuesday, March 29, at home against Trabuco Hills. The Mustangs (13-8, 1-1) are ranked No. 7 in CIF-SS Division 3.
Zach Cavanagh
Zach Cavanagh is the sports editor for Picket Fence Media. Zach is multiple California Journalism Award winner and has covered sports in Orange County since 2013. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @ZachCav and follow our sports coverage on Twitter @SouthOCSports. Email at zcavanagh@picketfencemedia.com.
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