Laguna Beach ends long drought in volleyball

CYPRESS - Bye, bye 1983.

The Laguna Beach boys volleyball program finally is a CIF champion again.

The second-seeded Breakers ended a 27-year drought by sweeping No. 1 Westlake of Westlake Village, 25-19, 25-23, 25-22, in the CIF-SS Division 2 championship match Saturday afternoon at Cypress College.

Travis Woloson and Scottie Chapel combined for 20 kills for the Breakers, who were playing in their first final since 1999. Robbie McKnight had 31 assists and 12 digs for Laguna Beach (23-8).

PHOTOS: Click here to see photos from this game.

MORE STORIES: Click here to read about St. Margaret's victory.

Marmonte League champs Westlake, which was the defending Division 2 champion and has no seniors on its rosters, finished the year 25-3.

“It's been almost a generation,” Laguna Beach coach Lance Stewart said. “I'm just so happy for these guys. They had to put up with a lot of stuff at the beginning of the year that they shouldn't have had to.”

Saturday's CIF title is the sixth in school history for Laguna Beach, which earned its last crown in 1983 by beating Estancia, 15-10, 15-5, 12-15, 16-14. The championship victory 27 years ago was the third consecutive title for the Breakers.

The streak began Stewart's senior season at Laguna Beach in 1981. He was voted the county and CIF player of the year.

Immediately after Westlake was whistled for a net violation to end Saturday's match, Woloson wrapped his coach up in a bear hug.

“Words can't describe how much we wanted to bring it back home,” Woloson said. “It's unbelievable. It's worth all the hard work.

“We lost some close matches at the beginning of the season and we were down from it. Lance told us we were still going to win CIF. He still believed.”

Woloson delivered six of his 10 kills in Game 3. With the score knotted at 22, Woloson nailed a winner for a 23-22 lead.

A Westlake hitting error gave Laguna Beach match point. After a long rally, Thompson's swing went well long, but the Warriors were ruled to be into the net and the match was over.

“It's surreal to think we swept them in three,” Woloson said. “It was a tough battle. We played well at the right times. The way we passed the ball was really crucial.”

Laguna Beach almost gave a big lead away late in Game 2. Up 24-19, the Breakers allowed Westlake to pull within 24-23 before calling a timeout.

Woloson put down a kill out of the break to end the game.

The Breakers started the match strong, building a 14-7 advantage in Game 1. Westlake fought back and trailed 20-18. However, Laguna Beach used a 5-1 run to end the game.

“Congratulations to Westlake,” Stewart said. “They gave us all we could handle. We never really found our rhythm for a long period.”