SANTA ANA – As the champions of the Crestview League, the Foothill boys volleyball team saw Tuesday night’s CIF-SS Division 1 first-round home game against Tesoro as the first step in what the Knights hope will be a championship run.
After grinding out a win in a back-and-forth first set, the Knights found their stride and swept the visiting Titans, 28-26, 25-22, 25-13.
Foothill (28-4) was shaky to start the first set, and Tesoro (16-13) took advantage. The Titans had multiple opportunities to serve for the win but were unable to put the Knights away.
“They thought they could win, and they played like it,” Foothill coach Kelly Caldwell said of Tesoro. “They should have won that first game. That’s the toughest competition we’ve seen in a while, and it was a good wake-up call for these guys.”
After winning the first set, the Knights remained in control for most of the second set. Eric Patton notched five kills, three blocks and two aces to lead the way to a 25-22 win.
The Knights dominated from start to finish in the third set and won, 25-13, as Patton and Chad Garrett each recorded four kills.
Patton finished with 15 kills, and Garret had 12.
“They’re two seniors who have been starting now for a while, and that’s what we need out of them,” Caldwell said. “If we’re going to do the things that we want to accomplish as a team, we need those guys to play as strong as they did tonight and step up when other guys can’t. They can be really unstoppable at certain points in the game, and tonight they were.”
Foothill will face Westlake in the second round Thursday. The location and time of the match will be announced Wednesday.
