Top-Ranked Esperanza Outlasts No. 3 Oilers

In a match filled with intensity and emotion, Esperanza, the top-ranked team in Orange County, fought off third-ranked Huntington Beach to post a four-game Sunset League boys’ volleyball victory Friday at Esperanza.

Jon Alleman had 30 kills, including 13 in the pivotal third game, to help the Aztecs win the 2 1/2-hour match, 15-17, 17-15, 16-14, 15-5.

“They played a great match,” Huntington Beach Coach Rocky Ciarelli said. “But for us, when you’re up, 14-12, in three of the games and you only win one of them, well . . .

“We had some chances but we didn’t put the ball away when we had to.”

Dave McKienzie had 31 kills and setter Dennis Masuda had 75 assists to help Huntington Beach win Game 1, 17-15. The Oilers took command late in Game 2, but Alleman helped the Aztecs rally.

In Game 2, Alleman’s back-row attack kill erased a game point at 14-12, then he fired two more from the back to eventually give the Aztecs a side out and game point, 17-15.

In Game 3, Alleman erased three Huntington Beach game points at 14-12, with kills for side outs. Then, teammate Kyle Anderson, who had 12 kills and six blocks, blocked Huntington Beach’s Caleb Guimaraes (20 kills) on two consecutive points to help Esperanza score the final four points.

Ciarelli’s frustration reached its boiling point early in Game 4 when in the middle of a six-point scoring run by Esperanza, he received a red card.

“I’ve seen Rocky get a red card before and it fired up his team,” Esperanza Coach Kurt Kersten said.

But this time, it didn’t give the Oilers any added inspiration. From that point on, Esperanza outscored Huntington Beach, 8-1.

Dan Harrington had 24 kills and setter Justin Dalton had 72 assists for Esperanza (12-1, 8-0 in league), ranked third in the Southern Section Division I poll.

Esperanza won the first league meeting with Huntington Beach, 15-11, 10-15, 12-15, 15-13, 15-7, and can clinch the league title with a victory over Marina Wednesday.

With its league-title hopes dashed, Huntington Beach (12-2, 6-2), ranked fourth in Division I, can only hope for a postseason rematch with Esperanza.

In another Sunset League match:

Edison 3, Fountain Valley 0--Matt Patterson had 13 kills and Ryan Hiskey had 33 assists for Edison (8-4, 4-4), which won, 15-3, 15-7, 15-8.