Dana Hills wraps up South Coast title

Dana Hills' Jake Lorscheider, left, tries to block a spike by San Clemente's Dominic Brousard during their a game Tuesdsay in San Clemente.
San Clemente's Brandon Hopper, right, goes up to block a shot against Dana Hills on Tuesday.
Dana Hills coach Oz Simmons talks to his players during a timeout in Tuesday's game against San Clemente.
San Clemente's Cale Foreman dives for the ball during a game against Dana Hills on Tuesday.
San Clemente libero Liam Walsh cheers a point made against Dana Hills on Tuesday.
San Clemente coach Ken Goldstone talks to his players during a timeout in Tuesday's game against Dana Hills.
Dana Hills' Teddy Fitzgerald tries for a block during a game against San Clemente on Tuesday.
San Clemente's Paul Castellana goes up for a block against Dana Hills on Tuesday.
Dana Hills' Teddy Fitzgerald goes up for a block during a game against San Clemente on Tuesday.
Dana Hills' Grady Yould appeals a call to the official during a game against San Clemente on Tuesday.
Dana Hills' Jake Lorscheider looks to return a shot during a game against San Clemente on Tuesday.
Dana Hills' Grady Yould, right, celebrates with teammate Thomas DeStefano after defeating San Clemente in three sets Tuesday.
Dana Hills' Thomas DeStefano, left, and Kai Zhang celebrate their victory over San Clemente on Tuesday.

By Damian Calhoun | dcalhoun@scng.com | Daily Breeze

April 28, 2015 at 9:49 p.m.

SAN CLEMENTE – The Dana Hills boys volleyball team isn’t the tallest team around, but the Dolphins make up for it in other areas, and that was on display in a key South Coast League match against San Clemente on Tuesday night.

“We know we’re going to get blocked, because we’re small,” junior outside hitter Grady Yould said. “We know that they are going to be big hits, but we don’t let anything affect us and keep on pushing through.”

The third-ranked Dolphins’ final push resulted in a 25-23, 25-19, 25-20 road victory that clinched the league title.

“I think we served better than we have tonight,” Dana Hills coach Oz Simmons said. “That’s a big part of ball control that our guys tend to forget about, but we have to serve well. I think we served very well tonight and we passed very well.

“We have to be the better passing team if we’re going up against guys who are 6-6, 6-8.”

Simmons added that Tuesday’s game was the best the Dolphins have passed and served all year.

Teddy Fitzgerald led the Dolphins (23-1, 7-0) with 13 kills, Yould added 12 and Grant Marocchi contributed eight.

The fourth-ranked Tritons (19-4, 4-2) were close to reversing the result. San Clemente fought to get to 24-23 in the first set, 20-18 in the second and 22-20 in the third. Each time, however, the Dolphins found their footing and closed out each set.

“We do a very good job of staying composed out there,” Simmons said. “I think that it’s that set group (on the court), and they know that for better or worse, they’re going to be the one to do it (turn things around), because I’m not going to save them by subbing someone out.

“I trust them that they’re going to do something and get better out there and they do. They’ve done that all the way through the season. They don’t get flustered and stay very steady.”

The Tritons had five players with five kills or more, led by Paul Castellana with seven.

“They forced the errors, they forced us into bad passes,” San Clemente coach Ken Goldstone said. “We were a little inconsistent tonight. They played real steady.”

Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com