El Dorado's Max Smith (left) and Dillon Overbeck were key contributors to a five-set victory over Sunny Hills in the CIF-SS Division 3 playoffs on Saturday, April 27. (Photo by David Delgado)
PLASENCIA — The El Dorado boys volleyball team trailed by three points late in the fifth set. Britt Brown, the team's coach, reminded her players to leave everything on the court as this could be their last chance.
“I told them to play every game like it was their last,” Brown recalled. “At the moment we have achieved all our goals and every match we play could be our last. So go out and be proud of yourself. Best Give it your all and walk off the court with pride whether you win or lose.”
The Golden Hawks lived up to their coach's words, defeating Sunny Hills 23-25, 25-19, 16-25, 25-23, 15-13 in the second round, ending the deciding set with a 7-2 run. . The CIF-SS Division 3 playoffs will be held Saturday at El Dorado High School.
El Dorado (28-5) will play Peninsula in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
This is the second year in a row that the Golden Hawks have advanced to the quarterfinals or higher. Last year they lost in the Division 4 final.
“They're very proud. They've worked hard,” Brown said. “Last year we worked hard but we didn’t quite get there. Our goal this year was to go (to the CIF finals) again and they put in so much time and effort to get here. They put in a lot of effort and I'm very proud of them.”
Max Smith led the attack with 25 kills, and Trent Chaffin added 10 kills for Eldorado.
Brown also mentioned the contributions of Ryan Chia and Dillon Overbeck.
“Ryan and Dillon have made a huge difference,” Brown said. “Ryan, my setter, obviously has it at the net, he's in control off the net, amazing hustle plays, great sets, dropping the ball, running back, blocking someone, shutting him down. I did it.”
Cheer had a team-high 12 blocks, 17 digs and two aces, while Overbeck had 22 digs.
“My opponent and captain Dillon was just phenomenal. He didn't let the ball land,” Brown said. “During one timeout, I told him, tell the team, tell the team, because he's the heart of the team, he wants it more than anyone, and he brings it out on the court every time. .”
That's when El Dorado got a match point from a block near the net by Cheer and Adam Crary, and Sunny Hills middle hitter Matthew Barta made double contact before overbecking a careless ball from Sunny Hills' Ryan Mesnik. It was obvious when it hit me in the face.
Barta kept the ball alive, but the officials made a decision. As El Dorado players stormed the court to celebrate, Overbeck's club teammate Mesnik swung the ball, which hit Overbeck in the face.
Overbeck took a moment to finally come off the floor, and the teams shook hands at midcourt without incident.
“They're actually friends and even played together in the club,” Brown said of Overbeck and Mesnik. “He may have been disappointed in the loss, but he wasn't trying to hit, he just hit the ball without direction.”
Mesnik finished with 15 kills.
Sunny Hills coach Albert Soriguen, who led the Lancers (24-8) to a CIF championship in 2022, was proud of his team's effort, but pointed to a few things that made a difference.
“In the last minute, you could see our guys step up and put us in a position to win, but we just couldn't connect in the end and close out the game,” he said. “This loss is difficult to accept because we want to challenge for the title again, but we are not upset with the team's performance.”
