Santa Margarita gains first victory with new coach
HUNTINGTON BEACH - Santa Margarita’s Spencer Buckley put the finishing touch on the Eagles first victory under new coach Bryan Cottriel with a well-timed block to end Edison’s comeback attempt Friday evening.
It gave No. 7 Santa Margarita a five-game triumph over the No. 3 Chargers in five games, 25-16, 25-17, 20-25, 20-25, 15-12, in nonleague boys volleyball action at Edison High. The Eagles are now 1-1. Edison, which defeated No. 8 Laguna Beach in five games Tuesday, falls to 1-1.
“It’s awesome for these guys,” said Cottriel of win No. 1. “These guys have been working so hard. All the credit goes to them. The changes have been tough on these guys.”
After being swept in its opener by Loyola on Tuesday, it looked as if Santa Margarita would return the favor against Edison. A hot start behind strong serving propelled the Eagles to a two-game lead. However, Edison began to control the ball better and worked its way back into the match by taking games 3 and 4.
In Game 5, Torey Darin (24 kills) ended a long rally with a back row kill from the right side to pull Edison within 9-8. But two consecutive errors stalled the Chargers’ momentum.
A few points after Austin Buckley (4 blocks) recorded a quick-set kill from the middle to give Santa Margarita match point.
“We started off extremely slow,” Edison coach Brian Boone said. “Our serving and passing was miserable. We finally starting playing and you saw what we could do. My hat is off to Santa Margarita. They were hungry after losing to Loyola.”
Game 1 was tight until an Eagles 8-2 run made it 17-10. Game 2 played out similar, with Santa Margarita pulling away late.
In both games, the Eagles serve was a big part of the team’s success. As a result, Edison struggled to set the ball close to the net, making it difficult to get any consistent production.
“We didn’t serve very well against Loyola,” Cottriel said. “The last few days we’ve watched film. We served really well tonight. The kids were working hard at it in practice.”
Edison gained its first lead at 5-4 in Game 3. The Chargers extended their margin to 14-7 before closing it out.
In Game 4, Edison built a lead of 16-12 before the Eagles fought back. Santa Margarita tied the score at 18 and 19, but Darin came through with two kills followed by two aces and Edison was able to close it out.
Ryan Baine had 20 kills and Taylor Hammond dished out 48 assists for Santa Margarita. Jeff Newell had 36 assists and four blocks for Edison.
“We haven’t started clicking yet,” Boone said. “I’m glad it’s early.”
