Huntington Beach wins O.C. Championships

HUNTINGTON BEACH - Huntington Beach's Nick Iorfino went up on the right side and smashed the set off the block, a fitting end against Corona del Mar in Monday's Orange County Championships final.

Iorfino was named tournament MVP, and his 10th and final kill of the match set off a celebration after Huntington Beach fought back and defeated Corona del Mar, 18-25, 25-17, 15-12, in boys volleyball at Edison High.

Huntington Beach (15-3) last won the county championship in 2005, when the Oilers also defeated Corona del Mar (7-5) in three games. Huntington Beach was the only team not to lose a match throughout pool play and main-draw action, including a three-game victory over the Sea Kings in pool play.

"We got hot at the right time," Huntington Beach coach Craig Pazanti said. "We don't want to make too much of it. We started with good energy, but Corona del Mar went on a run and we got rattled a little. We settled down and started to play like we know how."

Huntington Beach never trailed in Game 3. The Oilers turned a 3-3 tie into a 9-6 lead. It forced a Corona del Mar timeout, but the Sea Kings could only get as close as two points the remainder of the game.

Iorfino's ninth kill gave Huntington Beach its first match point at 14-11. However, the Sea Kings' Weston Nielsen extended the match with a cross-court winner from the left side.

"Our execution was better in Game 1 than in Game 2 and 3," Corona del Mar coach Steve Conti said. "I also think Huntington Beach picked up its level of play. We made more hitting and serving errors, and Huntington Beach played better defensively than us."

Huntington Beach used a spurt midway through the second game to take control and regain the momentum. With Huntington Beach leading 11-10 in Game 2, the Oilers went on a 9-3 run to push the margin to 20-13.

Game 1 was tied at 6 until a pair of Huntington Beach hitting errors gave Corona del Mar an 8-6 advantage. The Sea Kings kept the lead and the momentum for the rest of the game.

Corona del Mar extended the lead to 15-10. Huntington Beach closed to two points twice, but three consecutive missed serves doomed a possible rally. The Sea Kings ended the game on a hitting error and net violation on the Oilers.

Huntington Beach and Corona del Mar took contrasting routes to the championship match. While the Oilers went a perfect 5-0, the Sea Kings lost their first two pool-play matches and was on the brink of not making the gold division bracket.

However, Corona del Mar won its Saturday morning pool match against Tesoro, and when the Oilers beat Mater Dei in their final pool match, the Sea Kings qualified for the gold division.

Corona del Mar returns to Edison on Friday to face the Chargers in nonleague play.

Huntington Beach has an even shorter turnaround. The Oilers play host to Edison on Wednesday.

In the Division 2 final, Norco swept Francis Parker of San Diego in two games, 25-17, 25-21.