Today is the second round of the CIF Southern Region Men's Volleyball Divisions 2-7 playoffs.
Mission Viejo is one of many Orange County teams aiming for another season. So far, it's been a great season for Mission Viejo throughout the Diablos program.
All three teams, Mission Viejo's varsity, junior varsity and Froschsoff teams, were 9-0 in league play.
“They're all neighborhood kids, too,” Mission Viejo boys varsity volleyball team coach Ryan Thurlow said. “I'm a teacher, and part of my job is to find tall kids and get them excited about volleyball.”
Mission Viejo, 19-4 overall, defeated Elsinore in three sets, 25-19, 25-21, 26-24, in a CIF-SS Division 3 first round match at home. The Diablos were the home team in the first round of the CIF-SS playoffs for the sixth year in a row. They will play Wiseburn DaVinci (26-7) in the second round today at 6 p.m.
Diablos senior outside hitter Davis Howley had a team-high 22 kills in the win over Elsinore. Junior setter Michael Carmargo had 57 assists. Thurlow said senior middle blocker Alexander Frost also made a big contribution to Thursday's win.
Mission Viejo trailed 20-15 in the third set, but rallied to win 26-24.
Thurlow said the third set exemplified the spirit of the players.
“They always seem to be resilient,” he said. “Even when we're down by five or six points in a set, we always seem to be able to come back. They're a smarter team on the court, and they're embracing the mission approach of keeping the ball in play and forgiving the opponent's mistakes. Only.”
The quarterfinals will be played Wednesday for Divisions 2-7. The semi-finals for these divisions will be held on May 4th and the finals will be held on May 11th.
The eight-team Division 1 playoffs will be played in a pool play format. Division 1 will have a second round of pool play on Tuesday, followed by a third and final round of pool play on May 4th. The Division 1 finals will be held at Cerritos College on May 11th.
The winners of Wednesday's first round of Division 1 pool play were Loyola and Newport Harbor in Pool A and MiraCosta and Corona del Mar in Pool B. Tuesday's second-round pool play matches include Huntington Beach at Newport Harbor, a Surf League matchup; Edison plays at Mira Costa and Mater Dei plays at Loyola on Tuesday.