The Redondo team poses for a photo after a five-set victory over St. Margaret's in the CIFSS Regional Boys Volleyball Finals on Saturday, May 18, 2024. (Photo by Robert Casillas)
REDONDO BEACH — The Redondo boys volleyball team came up just short in its quest for its first CIF Southern Section championship last week.
But on Saturday, they were able to celebrate winning their first CIF Southern California Regional title.
It wasn't easy, but the Seahawks defeated St. Margaret's in five sets, 25-19, 17-25, 22-25, 25-21, 15-12, in the Division II regional final at Redondo High School.
“This is a very well-honed team,” Redondo coach Kevin Norman said. “We just try to play defense and usually pass the ball well. There were moments in this game where we had a little bit of a pause. The thing I like most about this team is how emotionally they play. We do a really good job of not being too much.”
Saturday's game put that mentality to the test, but Redondo pulled together and took the title.
“We had a lot of calls going against us in this game, so we were a little upset,” Norman said.
“They marched on us a little bit at the end, but certainly we did what we had to do and we got the call. That's kind of what I'm trying to tell them. Control those things. You can't do that, so you better keep doing what you're doing and find a way to get the ball back and hopefully the other team will make a mistake.”
The Seahawks (32-8) were soundly defeated by Santa Margarita in the CIF-SS Division 2 finals on May 11, but still qualified for the regional playoffs. This gave the Seahawks a chance to end the season with a championship.
“We didn't play well (in the CIF-SS final). The players were disappointed,” Norman said. And I didn't have to wait long because I knew (regionals) would start right away. ”
“We were definitely hungover. We played against Chatsworth (Tuesday) and it was a barnburner first set. It wasn't easy.”
Redondo's main challenge in Saturday's game was finding a way to slow down St. Margaret's outside hitter Reid Wainwright, who finished with 30 kills.
“In the fourth set, we put in a bigger lineup for a big guy on the other side (Wainwright), just to keep someone big over there to try and get some touches,” Norman said. “I think so. They used him a lot, but then they started moving away from him and it was a little bit of an even game after that.”
After losing the third set and falling behind 2-1 in the match, the Seahawks quickly recovered.
St. Margarets was forced to call the first timeout at 8-5, and after a block by Bobby Bennett gave Redondo a 13-7 lead, St. Margarets called a second timeout.
Redondo then pushed to a set point at 24-17, but it wasn't easy to end the set as St. Margaret's got within three points at 24-21. Bennett then had a kill to close out the set and take the fifth set. .
“We were down 2-1, so I said we had nothing to lose,” Bennett said. “We’ve come this far, so why not?”
The momentum of the fourth set carried over into the fifth, with the Seahawks winning 10-3. A kill by Luke Goldman gave them match point, and after what appeared to be several net violations were called, a net violation by St. Margarets gave the Seahawks the winning point.
Bennett and Goldman each had 17 kills and Essert had 16, and the Seahawks finished the season with a bit of history.
“I had been to the CIF finals three times before that (last week's finals), but I didn't come close to Bishop Montgomery,” Norman said. “I'm glad I got this. I also played in the state final against Bishop and lost…(this) feels good for me too.”
