Orange Lutheran Lancers celebrate after winning the CIF Division 2 crown. (PHOTOS: Tom Connolly, For OC Sports Zone).
Orange Lutheran’s boys volleyball team rallied late in the fourth set of Saturday’s CIF Division 2 championship match at Cerritos College and defeated Edison 3-1 to capture the program’s first crown since 2018.
Senior outside hitters Sam Utu and Josiah Trautman each recorded 20 kills to lead the Lancers (25-10) to the victory.
“Props to Edison for the effort they put out and the challenge they presented,” said Utu, who will be attending SMU next fall on a football scholarship. “It’s so surreal to win a CIF title; it’s hard to describe. It’s an amazing feeling. We’re having such a great time that none of us wanted this season to end.”
Utu and Trautman were spectacular throughout the match.
“I’m so grateful to be a part of this team,” said Trautman. “I’ve played on a lot of club teams but this is the best team I’ve ever been a part of. We have such a brotherhood as a group. I’m proud to help lead this team. We didn’t get rattled when things didn’t go our way. When we didn’t get a call, we just keep saying, ‘we got the next one.’”
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The Lancers survived six set points and held on to win the first set 31-29. The first set was tied 21 times and had six lead changes. With the score tied at 29-29, Edison hit the ball out of bounds and then committed a violation at the net to give OLu the win.
The second set was close as neither team was able to build more than a four-point lead.
Leading 23-21, Brent Benson recorded a block and a kill at the net to give Edison a 24-21 lead. Shane Wright then served up an ace, giving the Chargers a 25-21 victory and evening the match.
The Lancers jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the third set and built a 20-12 lead. However, the Chargers stormed back cut the lead to 22-19 after OLu misfired on three consecutive shots. But Trauntman and Utu provided late heroics and recorded two kills to give the Lancers a 25-20 victory and a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Chargers, after falling behind early in the fourth set, rallied to take a 20-16 lead, following back-to-back kills by Andrew Boon and Joel Atkins.
Edison was on the verge of forcing a fifth set, as they had four set points, but OLu was able to battle back. Trautman had four kills down the stretch, including back-to-back kills that tied the score at 26-26 and then he blasted another kill to give the Lancers a 27-26 advantage.
On the following play, a Chargers return shot sailed wide, propelling the Lancers to close out the set and earn the championship.
“We knew this match was going to be a battle,” said OLu Coach Henry Valiente, whose team reached the finals last season but fell to Tesoro. “We play in the best league in the county {Trinity League} and we’ve been tested. Our team is phenomenal. This is my third trip to the finals, twice with the boys and once with the OLu girls girls. This time we appreciate it that much more.”
OLu sophomore setter Max Lopez had an outstanding match with 40 assists and seven digs. The Lancers junior libero John Garabedian also starred with seven assists and 16 digs. Dane Geisen had a strong game with eight kills for OLu.
“I’m relieved, we worked hard all season for this moment,” said Geisen. “We believed all along we could get here and we ramped it up. Our fans really helped us out.”
Before the match, Edison Coach Trent Jackson said his team had to contain OLu’s bigs and “not let them beat us.
“We were so focused on Utu and Trauntman and we didn’t play well,” said Jackson after the match. “Their number 10 (Dane Geisen) hurt us with his kills. We didn’t serve well, we didn’t set well or pass well. Give OLu credit, they played a great match and they played better than us. They were in the finals last year, so we knew they were hungry. We had set points in two sets and and we couldn’t close it out. They capitalized on our mistakes.”
Boon had an excellent match with 20 kills for Edison. Wright also had 11 kills and Shane Nguyen had 28 assists for the Chargers.
Notes:
—-Orange Lutheran defeated Beckman, Fountain Valley, and St. Margaret’s to reach Saturday’s final while Edison beat Beaumont, Arcadia, and Camarillo.
—-Edison finished in fifth-place in the Sunset League and Orange Lutheran was fifth-place in the Trinity League during the regular season.
—-Several of the OLu players and coaches indicated the team dedicated the win to Nancy Paul, an OLu teacher teacher and a role model to the team, who passed away recently. “Nancy Paul was an inspiration to us all,“ said Blake Chatterton, a junior outside hitter. “She came to all of our games and she prayed for all of us. She was loved by everyone and we dedicate this championship to her.”
—-Lancers coach Henry Valiente added,” Nancy’s memorial service was today and we knew she was looking down upon us. She was such a positive role model to the students and her community.”
—-OLu’s Josiah Trauntman plans to attend Vanguard and play volleyball next year. Utu will be attending SMU in Texas and will be an offensive tackle on the Mustangs football team.
—-Edison has three players planning on playing college volleyball. Brent Benson and Kion Cumme will be attending Golden West College and Andrew Boon will be attending and playing at Orange Coast College next season.
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