Steady Eagles Sweep Past San Clemente

Playing with the kind of efficiency born of experience, Santa Margarita defeated San Clemente, 15-10, 15-5, 15-10, Tuesday in the second round of the Southern Section Division I boys’ volleyball tournament.

Santa Margarita (17-2) will play top-seeded Manhattan Beach Mira Costa (19-0) Friday in the quarterfinals at a site to be determined.

Consistent play was key for the Eagles, who lost only one player to graduation after last season. There’s no star, but there’s a remarkable division of labor.

And not only are the Eagles well-rounded, they also are well-trained.

“We expected a tough match but I think we were more prepared for this match than for any one this year. We went over everything and had a good game plan. That was probably our best asset,� said Sean Redfern, a senior middle blocker who also played on the Eagles’ basketball team the last two seasons.

Tim Gerlach led the Eagles with 11 kills and Redfern had 10.

For San Clemente (13-7), star setter Brandon Taliaferro can never be counted out of a match and that was true against Santa Margarita. When the Tritons were struggling in the second game, 6-foot-5 Taliaferro signaled to Coach Mike Hurlbut to switch him to hitter.

“He wanted to shoulder the load and get some swings at the ball,� Hurlbut said, adding that Taliaferro is the best setter he has ever coached.

Taliaferro made a valiant attempt, finishing with eight kills, but there was too much else going wrong on the Triton side of the net. San Clemente’s starting outside hitters were plagued by injuries.

James Obradovic aggravated a wrist injury and asked to be taken out during the second game. Then, with the score tied, 3-3, in the third game, Chris Sebourn injured his knee and also left the match after hitting a team-high 10 kills.

After a 9-5 run, Santa Margarita was one point from advancing to the quarterfinals, but Taliaferro would not go down without a fight. He had two kills for sideouts on the next two match-point opportunities for Santa Margarita and also scored on a block.

But on the Eagles’ third match-point attempt, Taliaferro watched his spike fall outside the sideline and saw the end of an impressive high school career.

In other Division I matches:

Capistrano Valley 3, Corona del Mar 2--Ryan Thurlow had 25 kills to lead Capistrano Valley, which beat Corona del Mar, 8-15, 15-7, 12-15, 15-12, 15-9. John Coon had a match-high 31 kills and teammate Ian Coleman had 30.

Esperanza 3, Westlake Village Westlake 0--John Alleman had 12 kills and Van Harrington and Kris Welch added nine for Esperanza, which defeated Westlake, 15-11, 15-6, 15-3.

Huntington Beach 3, Laguna Beach 0--Evan Hook had 21 kills and Dave McKenzie added 20 in the 16-14, 15-6, 15-7 victory for Huntington Beach (19-1).

Manhattan Beach Mira Costa 3, Edison 0--Mira Costa had too much offense for Edison, beating the Chargers, 15-6, 15-7, 15-10.