Redondo’s boys volleyball team broke a five-year drought when it won the annual Redondo Varsity Pre-Season Tournament with a 25-22, 26-24 Gold Division victory over Long Beach Poly.
Led by tournament MVP Ryan Mather, the Sea Hawks didn’t lose a set during the two-day tournament, validating their No. 5 ranking in the CIF Southern Section Division 1 poll.
Redondo began its run Friday with sweeps over Van Nuys, Crescenta Valley and Downey. Ryan Olson recorded 30 kills, 24 digs and six aces on the day while Riley Theunissen had 24 kills and 12 aces and Mather added 19 kills and nine blocks.
Capitalizing on a strong serving game, Redondo advanced to the Gold Division where it defeated Lakewood 25-10, 25-19, South Torrance 25-21, 25-16 and Burroughs 25-22, 25-19 before knocking off Long Beach Poly.
Mather finished the day with 21 kills and 11 blocks, Andy Price had 75 assists and eight digs, Olson recorded 16 kills, 28 digs and seven blocks and Theunissen added 15 kills and 19 digs for the Sea Hawks.
Mira Costa began its 2011 campaign with an impressive 25-13, 20-25, 25-16, 25-17 road win over perennial power Santa Barbara. D.J. White had 15 kills, Chris Orenic had nine kills and two blocks to lead the Mustangs who are ranked No. 2 in Division 1. Santa Barbara is ranked No. 9.
Setter Kameron Bain spread the ball around recording 45 assists. Carl Acres and Keith Waddell each had seven kills and Jake Miller added six.
Mira Costa and Redondo will travel to Poway where they will join 30 other teams in the prestigious Best of the West Tournament to be held Friday and Saturday.
The tournament will provide Mira Costa head coach Mike Ninnis and Redondo skipper Duncan Avery a good look at their competition as their teams vie for a CIF championship. Nine of the top 10 teams in Division 1 are in the field that includes 13 top 10 teams from the CIF Southern Section.
In last year’s Best of the West Tournament, Mira Costa took third in the Gold Division while Redondo placed second in the Silver Division. ER
