SVC sticks to plan, returns to regional title game

Saddleback Valley's Matt Minsberg with a solid hit over the net against St. Margaret's Brent Cahill and Jordan Chun blocking on Thursday evening.
Saddleback Valley's Matt Minsberg with a solid hit over the net against St. Margaret's Brent Cahill and Jordan Chun blocking on Thursday evening.
St. Margaret's Brent Cahill with a hit at the net with Saddleback Valley's Trevor O'Reilly and Matt Ginsberg on the block.
Saddleback Valley's Jon Ginsberg, along with Trevor O'Reilly blocking at the net in play against Saddleback Valley on Thursday evening.
A hit at the net by Saddleback Valley's Jon Minsberg is repelled by St. Margaret's Brent Cahill and Matt Nicohlas on Thursday evening.
Saddleback Valley's Brandon Ketel with a hit at the net as St. Margaret's Jack McCaffrey on the block Thursday evening.
St. Margaret's Brent Cahill at the net with a hit against Saddleback Valley's Trevor O'Reilly on Thursday evening.
St. Margaret's Brendan Peralez comes in low to receive a Saddleback Valley serve on Thursday evening.
St. Margaret's Jack McCaffrey blasts the ball past Saddleback Valley's Brandon Ketel on Thursday evening.
Saddleback Valley's Trevor O'Reilly re-directs the ball on hit against St. Margarets on Thursday evening.

By Nathan Percy | Orange County Register

May 28, 2015 at 11:34 p.m.

LAGUNA HILLS – Saddleback Valley Christian boys volleyball coach Ryan Van Rensselaer knew that trying to defeat St. Margaret’s a third time was going to be a challenge.

Noting the Tartans’ strong defensive abilities, SVC’s game plan was to control the front line by pinching the block and putting St. Margaret’s out of system.

The Warriors excelled at both and swept past the Tartans, 25-20, 25-15, 25-11, Thursday at Laguna Hills High. SVC makes its way back to the CIF Division III Southern Regional Final on Saturday.

“Any good team is tough to beat three times,” Van Rensselaer said. “Their defense keeps them in games. … We had a specific strategy on who to serve and where to locate. We followed the gameplan and it worked out well for us.”

Noah Dyer led the Warriors with 13 kills, Matt Minsberg added 12 and middle blocker Trevor O’Reilly had eight. Setter Jon Minsberg spread the attack well, totaling 32 assists. O’Reilly also tallied five blocks for points.

St. Margaret’s made a match of it early. When it seemed SVC pulled away in the first set, the Tartans reeled them in, reducing multiple leads down to one.

“We’ve typically done a good job of responding to different situations of adversity,” Tartans coach Jeremy Dailey said. “Any time they called a timeout, they came back with a point. They did a good job of slowing us down when we had momentum.”

With a 16-15 lead, SVC made its move with a 6-1 run following a timeout. Dyer highlighted the run with a pair of kills and recorded four of the Warriors’ final five points.

St. Margaret’s again matched SVC at 12-12 in the second set, but the Warriors’ variety of weapons caused problems for the Tartans’ defense, leading to a 15-3 run to close out the set for a 2-0 lead.

“I don’t have to make anything perfect, if I put a ball off the net or low, they’re still putting it away,” Jon Minsberg said of his hitters. “We’ve limited errors, they’re just making it in.”

With momentum, the Warriors jumped out in the third set and never looked back.

Matt Nicholas led the Tartans with eight kills, while Brent Cahill recorded six and David Chou added five. Jordan Chun finished with 24 assists.

Last season, SVC made the CIF Division 3 Southern Regional Finals, but fell to Laguna Beach. The Warriors have another shot at the Breakers on Saturday.

“Now we’ll see if we can get a little redemption. I like playing good volleyball programs,” Van Rensselaer said. “They’re good volleyball players and they’re deep in every position. It’ll be fun for us.”