ONTARIO — There was nothing in the results of the past two seasons to indicate a historic season was coming for the Ontario Christian men's volleyball team.
The Knights finished last in the league both years, winning just seven games overall. But senior middle blocker Simon Coontz noticed a difference.
“A lot of our players started playing club (volleyball) in the summer. We had a feeling this year was going to be much better,” Koontz said.
Koontz was right.
The top-seeded Knights won the first CIF Southern Section championship in program history with a 25-13, 25-17, 25-23 victory over Orangewood Academy in the Division 7 semifinals Saturday night at Ontario Christian High School. advanced to the match.
Ont. Christian (19-11) will play either unseeded Avalon or No. 2 Downey Calvary Chapel on Saturday, May 11, in the semifinals on Monday. Christians in Ontario were scheduled to host Avalon and perform at Calvary Chapel.
“This is a validation of what we were trying to do at the beginning of the year,” said Ontario Christian coach David Slager, who is in his 23rd season. “We want to win the CIF championship. I'm very proud of them.”
Saturday also saw the Knights advance to the semifinals for the first time in program history, having previously only reached the quarterfinals.
Slager said he tried to downplay the team's role as a Division 7 championship contender.
“I told the players, 'Don't go to Max Preps, don't worry about the other team, take care of yourself,'” Slager said. “We know how good we can be. We also know how bad we can be if we don't focus.”
Initially, the Knights had a size advantage, led by the 6-foot-4 Koontz, 6-5 junior outside hitter and middle blocker Micah McKenzie, and 6-3 junior middle blocker Ryan Price. It was obvious.
In winning the first two sets, Ont. Christian never trailed, nor was he threatened enough to force Slager into a timeout.
Things changed in the third set as the Spartans rallied from an early 5-1 deficit to take an 11-7 lead. Orangewood still led 22-19, but the Knights had a good run with a Koontz kill to seal the match.
McKenzie led the Knights with nine kills and Koontz had eight, all in the final two sets. Junior setter Ryan Merandi (25 assists) also had some clever tips to help Ontario Christian rally in the third set.
“He likes to save the most important moments until the end of the game,” Slager said of Merandi.
Spartans coach Nguyen Lee was proud of his team's solid third set and the Spartans' first appearance in the CIF-SS semifinals, led by Express League Player of the Year OC White.
“The kids gave it their all and did everything they could,” Lee said. “If you don't miss your serve and don't touch the net all the time, you win half the matches. That kills momentum.”