COUNTY VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS : Esperanza Wins Title, but No. 1 Is Still at Stake

HUNTINGTON BEACH — Sure, Esperanza won. But are the Aztecs No. 1?

The Esperanza boys’ volleyball team, ranked second in Orange County, made a strong case for the top spot by beating fourth-ranked Laguna Beach, 16-14, 15-10, Saturday night in the Division I final of the Orange County Championships at Marina High.

But top-ranked and undefeated Capistrano Valley didn’t play in the tournament.

So the Aztecs will have to wait until Tuesday’s nonleague match against the Cougars to determine the county’s top team. And they can hardly wait.

“Our players want Capistrano Valley badly,” Esperanza Coach Kurt Kersten said. “I can’t think of anything better than No. 1 and No. 2 at our place.”

In the meantime, Esperanza won its first Division I county title, adding to its Division II championship last season.

Senior middle blocker Paul Nihipali, who’s headed to UCLA, was named the tournament’s MVP after leading the Aztecs with 20 kills in the championship match.

“This was a big match for us, and we went a lot to Paul in the back row,” Kersten said. “We knew Laguna was a great ball-control team, and we had to spread our hitters out a little bit. Bringing Paul out of the back row gave us an extra dimension.”

Esperanza outside hitter Brad Goldston (14 kills) and setter Chris Pitzak (38 assists) joined Nihipali on the all-tournament team. Also named to the team were Laguna Beach setter David Berney and outside hitter Dan Styles, Huntington Beach outside hitter Shadd Walker and Edison outside hitter Ben Beard.

The Aztecs won their first Division I title by breezing through four matches undefeated. They swept Marina in the first round, beat fifth-ranked Irvine, 15-7, 15-5, in the quarterfinals and ninth-ranked Edison, 15-5, 15-13, in the semifinals.

Laguna Beach had a much tougher road to the final, despite getting a first-round bye after winning its pool in Friday’s playoffs. The Artists needed three games to beat both 10th-ranked Dana Hills in the quarterfinals and third-ranked Huntington Beach in the semifinals.

Laguna Beach players were exhausted by the final, and they showed it by committing 21 hitting errors.

Esperanza scored on nine of Laguna Beach’s 13 errors in the first game, rallying from a 10-6 deficit to tie it, 14-14. The Aztecs scored the final two points on consecutive hitting errors by Styles.

The Aztecs pulled away from a 9-9 tie in the second game on a block by Pitzak, a Goldston kill and four more Laguna Beach hitting errors.

Esperanza also dominated at the net with eight blocks to Laguna Beach’s one. Styles led Laguna Beach with 10 kills, and Beau Bianchi and Bob Jameson added eight apiece.

In Division II:

Whittier Christian Wins--Outside hitter Derek Beard was named tournament MVP, and Jon Habben and Stan Park earned all-tournament honors after leading the Heralds to a 15-9, 1-15, 15-10, victory over Foothill in the championship match at Huntington Beach High.