Breakers Crash Valley Christian's Boys Volleyball Hopes in CIF Regionals

A landlocked school from Cerritos gave Laguna Beach High School  all it could handle Thursday night in the CIF Southern California Regional Division 3 semifinals. But the Breakers had one weapon that made all the difference – USC-bound Robbie McKnight, their senior opposite hitter.

The left-hander put down thunderous hit after unreturnable smash on his way to a match-high 40 kills during a 25-27, 25-21, 25-23, 25-21 victory over a never-say-die Crusaders squad that was seeded fourth.

The top-seeded Breakers (22-11), runners-up in the Southern Section Division 2 finals last Saturday to Corona del Mar, advance to the regional finals on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Irvine Valley College. Looking for their third consecutive regional title, Laguna Beach will face Francis Parker, the same team it beat in last year's final, 3-0. Francis Parker defeated La Jolla The Bishop’s, 25-20, 25-22, 25-11, in its semifinal Thursday.

“That’s the best team we’ve faced in the playoffs,” Laguna Beach coach Lance Stewart said of Valley Christian, which had won its last nine matches in a row, including a victory over Burbank Burroughs in the section's Division 3 final. “They’re the best we’ve faced since Corona del Mar.”

Valley Christian (30-5) knew all about McKnight, whose injury to his left knee kept him on the sidelines during Laguna Beach's three-set first-round victory over Vistamar on Tuesday. The Crusaders set up their blocks to try to counter McKnight, but they couldn't do that often enough.

“We knew where they were going,” said Valley Christian coach Rob Samuelson, who led his team the farthest it had ever been in the regionals. “We still couldn’t stop him. He’s unbelievable. There’s no shame in losing to these guys.”

McKnight – whose father, Bob, is the CEO of Quicksilver - was part of a steady Breakers' attack. Austin Hillemann and Alek Burk each added seven kills. “I didn’t want to let my team down,” Robbie said. “Not many people can do that [three-peat]. It’s been a little extra motivation for us.”

Valley Christian won Game 1 after senior opposite hitter Chris Albers hammered home one of his team-leading 23 kills (17 assists). With Albers serving, sophomore middle blocker Caleb Miller put away a free ball on set point.

But Laguna Beach bounced back, holding the Crusaders off by closing out two- to three-point leads in each of the next three sets. Valley Christian’s hitters tried to get around blocks in the fourth set, but their hits went wide too many times down the stretch.

“Their crowd got into it,” Albers said. “They started getting some solid groups. At the end of the first set, we had good momentum.”

Stewart implored his team to start playing better defense after Game 1, and it seemed to work. Albers killed a ball to tie the second set at 18. But Laguna Beach’s blocks were more firm, and a block by Maxx McCarter tied the match at 1-1.

McCarter eventually would come up with another big block on another set point, putting his team up 2-1. Albers’ hit went long earlier on, which allowed Laguna Beach to take a 21-20 lead that it wouldn't relinquish.

“I don’t think they were going to listen to me,” Stewart said. “We were working hard, but a fly’s flying against a window, trying to get out. If that fly will take a second and look to his right, there might be an open door. We were that fly tonight.”

Game 4 was yet another nip-and-tuck contest, with the teams battling to a tie at 19. But two net violations by Miller, who had six kills and six blocks, allowed the Breakers to take a 21-19 lead. A block by McCarter made it 23-20, and McKnight made his final kill to put the match on ice.

“It’s nice to have a player that’s going to put away a ball most of the time,” Stewart said.

Senior setter Jack Winn came back off of a battle with strep throat to finish with 53 assists for Laguna Beach, and Valley Christian's Kyle Davis had 34.