Huntington Beach stays on track with sweep

Huntington Beach overcame a slow start in the opening game to sweep Trabuco Hills, 25-23, 25-9, 25-17, in the Sea View League boys volleyball opener Thursday at Trabuco Hills High.

The No. 8 Oilers (7-5) were coming off a victory over No. 6 Edison on Tuesday, but they took some time to find their rhythm against the Mustangs (6-6).

"They came out well and didn't make errors," Oilers coach Craig Pazanti said of the Mustangs. "We had to refocus. You never want to drop the first game on the road. But that's the thing about this team, is it doesn't give up. We just kept pushing."

Trabuco Hills led, 20-17, before the Oilers strung together a 5-0 run to go in front, 22-20. The Mustangs called a timeout, and then responded to lead, 23-22, on Johl Awerkamp's winner.

Huntington Beach took a timeout and it too came back with a 3-0 run, capped by Tyler Kulakowski's kill to clinch the game. He led the Oilers with nine kills. Eric Bartlett added eight kills, and Zack Kimber had 28 assists.

"We played well the first game," Mustangs coach Dave Hollaway said. "We served well and we put pressure on them. They are a good team. They didn't make errors late."

The Oilers stormed to victory in Game 2, building an 8-4 lead and never looking back. The Mustangs played better in Game 3, but trailed, 18-10.

"The key for us is passing," Pazanti said. "If we can pass, we have five guys who can score. When we dig and we pass the ball, we are tough to beat."

In other boys volleyball:

No. 5 Mater Dei 3, Servite 0:The Monarchs, playing their first home match, swept the Friars, 25-21, 25-23, 25-14. Chris Trefzger had 19 assists for Mater Dei (9-1). Connor Hughes had 10 digs and Sal La Cavera had six kills.

Foothill 3, Woodbridge 0: The Knights began Sea View League play with a sweep over the Warriors, 25-20, 25-22, 25-19. Dane Worley finished with 13 kills for Foothill.

El Toro 3, Northwood 2: P.J. Stack had 19 kills and Aaron Wolfe had 14 kills and five blocks to propel the Chargers past the host Timberwolves, 25-19, 25-17, 19-25, 20-25, 15-11.

Jake McClellan had 20 kills for Northwood.

El Modena 3, Garden Grove 2: Connor Olbright had 27 kills to help the Vanguards rally past the Argonauts, 17-25, 25-18, 23-25, 25-12, 15-9.

Contact the writer: ctobolski@ocregister.com