HUNTINGTON BEACH – Winning has become a way of life around the Huntington Beach boys volleyball program.
Three consecutive CIF-SS titles. Three consecutive CIF SoCal Regional titles. Four consecutive undefeated Sunset League titles and of course, the Oilers enter the new season on a 104-consecutive match winning streak.
There are several teams in the county and across the Southern Section that wouldn’t mind if the Oilers sit back and rest on what they’ve accomplished.
That’s not going to happen.
“Odds are, we’re going to lose a match,” Oilers coach Craig Pazanti said. “How many will we lose? Hopefully it is not the last match (in CIF playoffs). The odds were last year we were going to lose a match, the odds were the year before we were going to lose a match. … If we can stay in the moment and focus on each specific point and each specific play and get better every day, then we’ll take our chances at the end of the year.
“I think there is a enough talent for us to win and we’ll just see how it plays out. We’re not going in with intent to lose, I can tell you that. We’re going out and try and win every single match.”
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The Oilers begin the season Saturday in the Tesoro Varsity Tournament.
With so many new faces stepping into larger roles, this tournament serves as the perfect way to open the season to get them accustomed to playing on the court together.
“We’re going to keep doing our same things we’ve been doing,” senior outside hitter Sean Morrissey said. “Craig (Pazanti) runs the same type of practices and is trying to keep the dynasty working.”
Morrissey (USC) is one of the players, along with middle blocker Shane Holdaway, that will be looked to lead the Oilers this season. That was a role that typically fell to the likes of TJ DeFalco and setter Josh Tuaniga, both who are now at Long Beach State.
“It is big new role that we have to fill,” he said. “We’re the only returning starters, so now, we’re the captains and we’re trying to teach everyone else how it has been the last couple of years, so it will be interesting.”
The question surrounding the Oilers as the season begins is will someone finally end their streak? Their current winning streak dates to 2013, when they were defeated in the Orange County Championships by San Clemente. They’ve recorded consecutive 40-0 seasons entering 2016.
Holdaway said he’s had some friends from rival schools tell him that they’re going to end the streak.
“It is in the back of our minds,” Holdaway said of the streak. “We’re not getting too hyped up about that. We just have to focus on out-working the other teams. Just because we have a lot of talent, doesn’t mean we can slack off in practice.
“We don’t make it (the streak) the main focus. We focus on just getting the win. The way you do that is by doing the small things right.”
The next target for the Oilers is the National Record of 112 consecutive matches, set by Salem of New Hampshire (2004-09).
On the schedule this season is a trip to the Best of the West Tournament (Mar. 11-12) and the Redondo Varsity Classic (Apr. 29-30) toward the end of the year.
The Oilers also have nonleague matches against Saddleback Valley Christian (Mar. 3), Servite (Mar. 8), Mira Costa (May 5) and their toughest competition in the Sunset League will be against Edison and Newport Harbor.
“We had guys that did a lot for us last year and for the last two or three years and they’re gone,” Pazanti said. “While we’ve lost a bunch, we’ve gained some pieces. Alex Anastassiades (recently committed to Long Beach State) has probably grown a couple of inches since last year,. having (setter) Tanner (Woods) back is good for us.
“We have guys that are going to play big time volleyball (in college). Everybody wants to talk about this or that and how we’re going to do, we’re going to try and keep it simple as possible and try and focus on the match in front of us.”
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
