Swept up in volleyball victory

The bear hugs were unceasing Saturday evening at the Cypress College gymnasium.

High-fives, skyward-clinched fists and back-slaps also were contagious among the Edison High School boys’ volleyball team and Chargers fans who had rushed onto the court post-match.

Winning a CIF-Southern Section championship tends to bring out all types of celebratory gestures, and playing your best ball at the right time in the most important match of the year makes the ensuing celebration all the sweeter.

Edison did just that Saturday, as the second-ranked Chargers swept past No. 1 Redondo Union, 25-21, 27-25, 25-23, in the Division I final to win the school’s first section title in the sport.

Three previous times ? 1990, 1986 and 1985 ? Edison had reached a division title match, only to finish as runner-up.

Not this time. Not when the entire squad, from top to bottom, contributed to a victory that saw the Chargers control most of the match.

“Veni, vidi, vici” was the motto that greeted the Chargers in their locker room prior to Saturday’s showdown.

“I put it up on the white message board in our locker room,” Edison Coach Brian Boone said in reference to the famous Latin phrase uttered by Julius Caesar to the Roman senate regarding a military victory. “We did just that. We came, we saw, we conquered.”

A stunning sweep left no doubt as to who was No. 1.

“It’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever had,” Edison captain Tommy Pestolesi said as he worked his way through a maze of Chargers supporters who had taken over the court after the match.

Pestolesi, a 6-foot-5 senior outside hitter who will play at Cal State Long Beach next year, finished with 16 kills.

“This is wild,” he said as he walked toward one of the gym exits. “To be honest, it hasn’t hit me yet. It probably won’t sink in until a few days from now.”

Sunset League champion Edison, which concluded a memorable season with a record of 30-5, came out fired up and took it to the Seahawks from the get-go.

The Chargers never trailed in two of the three games in earning the sweep.

The first game saw Edison bolt to leads of 7-3 and 10-5, before Redondo came back to tie the score at 14-14 and again at 16-16. But the Seahawks would never take the lead. The Chargers built the margin back up to 24-19, then secured the game on a dink by 6-foot-5 sophomore middle blocker Carl Eberts.

“We had great preparation for this match, and our intensity really showed on the court from the beginning,” said Eberts, who is playing his first year of volleyball for the Chargers. “I think that quick start helped us set the tone. I was expecting five intense games, but we just continued to play solid the next two games to get the sweep.”

Redondo jumped out to a 9-5 lead in game No. 2, but Edison rallied to tie the score at 11-11. The Seahawks were looking to pull away when they took a 17-14 lead, but Edison called a timeout and then got a kill from senior outside hitter Tim Golden, a net violation by the Seahawks and a kill by Phil Darin, to forge a 17-17 tie. The score was tied four more times before Redondo stood at game-point, holding a 24-23 lead. But the Seahawks’ were unable to sew up the game, as middle blocker Chris Roche was wide on a kill attempt.

The Seahawks could have wrapped up the second game when leading 25-24, but Darin, a 6-foot-7 middle blocker who also had 16 kills, came up with a big kill to tie the score. Edison seized the lead for good on another kill by Darin, then won the game on Pestolesi’s kill.

“We just came into this match knowing what had to be done, and everyone on this team responded,” Darin said. “Our defense and our passing has been great. We did the job tonight. I think it was one of our best performances.”

Up 2-0 in games and a win away from becoming the first team from Orange County to win a championship at Cypress College that day ? both Costa Mesa and Corona del Mar lost division finals held earlier in the day ? Boone said his team was reminded in a huddle before the third game of what had happened to Corona del Mar.

The Sea Kings were up 2-0 in games against No. 1 Valencia in the Division II title match played prior to the Edison-Redondo final, but the Vikings stormed back to pull out another title.

“One of our players brought up the fact that they were up 2-0 in games but lost. I put an end to that conversation real quick,” Boone said. “It was a fantastic feeling to be up two games, but we knew it was far from over.

“What impressed me most was that our guys kept an even keel and never lost focus. The adrenaline was a little high in that third game, but there was plenty at stake.”

Edison also never trailed in the third game, although seven serving errors kept the game interesting. The last tie came at 3-3, as the Chargers slowly built leads of 14-10, 18-14 and their biggest, 22-17, on a kill by Darin. But Redondo fought back to make the score 24-23. Following a final time out by the Chargers, Pestolesi delivered the match-clinching blow with a kill to wrap up the title.

“I can’t say enough how great the team played,” Boone said. “We had great contributions from everybody. Tim and Tommy on the outside, Kenny Webster’s passing. Everyone was just terrific.

“This is a fantastic feeling, but I’m stunned. We played our best against the No. 1-ranked team. It’s such a satisfying feeling to play at the level we did tonight, when it counted most. Tonight was the Chargers’ turn.”

All-Star event: The 29th annual Dave Mohs Memorial Orange County High School All-Star Games, pitting the North against the South in both girls’ and boys’ play, will be played Friday at Newport Harbor High School.

The girls’ match will be at 6 p.m., followed at approximately 7:30 p.m. by the boys’ match. Both matches will be three games.

Playing for the North, coached by Rocky Ciarelli of Huntington Beach and Jimmy Munoz of Los Alamitos, are Felicia Ciarelli of Huntington Beach and Kelly Hyder of Edison.

In the boys’ match, Boone and Chris Komer of Costa Mesa will coach the North squad, which includes Pestolesi, Webster and Golden of Edison and Ryan Boyce, Trey Valbuena and Rory Jones of Huntington Beach.hbi-01-cifvoll-mcd-CPhotoInfo2S1RG6OR20060601j03pw9ncMARK DUSTIN / INDEPENDENT(LA)Edison coach Brian Boone, top, is lifted and hugged by Phil Darin (34), bottom, as they celebrate their three game sweep of Redondo Union in the CIF Division I Finals at Cypress College Saturday.