Laguna Beach takes down Francis Parker of San Diego by 3-2: High School Volleyball
Saturday saw the final of the Division III Southern California Regional take place between Laguna Beach boys volleyball team and Francis Parker of San Diego. The competition ended with the win going to the Breakers with the final set scores, 25-17, 18-25,
20-25, 25-22 and 15-8.
The final of the tournament took place at Irvine Valley College and was the third consecutive time that the Breakers were able to achieve the champion’s title for themselves. Unfortunately for Francis Parker, it becomes the second time that they have been
defeated by the Breakers in the final of the tournament. The last time that this happened was in the championship match of 2009.
Despite the fact that Francis Parker lost the match, they did not go down without putting up a fights against the Breakers. The fire in Francis Parker was spurred on by the loss that they incurred in the first set of the game at 17-25. The Breakers were
able to take an easy win over their opponents by putting up a strong attack and a tough defense.
After having lost the opening set of the game by a good margin, Francis Parker were sent a much needed wakeup call. They responded positively by stepping up their game and coming out strong in the second set of the game. As a result, Francis Parker was able
to secure the second set at 25-18.
The confidence generated after winning the previous set, lead Francis Parker all the way to bag the third one at 25-20.
Being at a one set deficit at a crucial stage in the final match got the nerves of the Breakers a bit shaky. The fourth set of the match started off with both the teams attacking in order to gain dominance. However, it was still the Lancers who had the lead
in the middle of the set at 14-11. In order to break the momentum of the Lancers, the Breakers coach Lance Stewart called for a time out. This strategic call worked well for the Breakers who were able to gather their nerves and come out rejuvenated onto the
courts. The Breakers put on a spurt of points that first lead them to a tie at 18-18 before a fourth set victory at 25-22.
Once the Breakers got started, there was no stopping them in the fifth set as well. They were able to get the lead early on and kept on extending their advantage with the Lancers trailing behind. At no point in the set could Francis Parker overtake the Breakers
who sealed victory by winning the first set of the game at 15-8.
"I tell them every year that we are going to have to win a five-game match to win a championship," Stewart said. "We had to last year and we had to the year before and we had to tonight."
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