Volleyball: Apaches Sweep Into Second Round

The Arcadia boys volleyball team had just finished dusting off Gabrielino by a score of 25-20, 25-17 and 25-19 on Tuesday in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division III playoffs, but Apaches coach Charles Freberg was not in the mood to revel in the home-court win.

“We’re not where I want to be (right now),” said Freberg, who said he was pleased with how his team performed in the Redondo Classic less than two weeks ago.

The Apaches coach then pointed to the times in which the Apaches defense was out of position on a number of Gabrielino offensive sets, and the instances when a lack of communication led to a couple of easy points for the Eagles.

Those miscues were most evident during the first game when Gabrielino gave the Apaches their best effort of the night. The two teams traded points back and forth until it was 14-14 after an Apaches outside hitter aired a shot out of bounds.

The opening game was much closer than when the two teams first met March 24 when the Apaches cruised to a 25-12, 25-7, 25-20 win.

But the Eagles (10-10) couldn’t sustain their early success as the Apaches got kills from Alejandro De Mendoza and Cole Giacopuzzi to leap ahead 18-14. Garwing Lai finished off the 25-20 win with a kill and then an ace that just nicked the back line to stay in bound for the winning point.

De Mendoza attributed the Apaches’ close call in Game 1 to playoff nerves. 

“I think the first game was jitters,” De Mendoza.

In the second game, the Apaches began to flex their muscles and show why they have to be considered one of the favorites to make a run to the division finals. Arcadia, who was ranked No. 4 in the final Division III poll, ran off eight straight points to turn a 3-3 tie into a commanding 11-3 advantage.

“I’m sure it gets them down,” De Mendoza said of the effect that kind of run can have on an opponent.

Throughout the run, the Apaches (21-9) punished the Eagles with powerful shots in the middle of the court from De Mendoza, Giacopuzzi and Lai that either resulted in kills or flustered the Eagles into mishits and unforced errors.

“You’ve got to be able to maintain that level all the way through the game,” Freberg said.

The Eagles certainly couldn’t, as evidenced by their eight service errors in the second and third games.

Lai led the Apaches with 12 kills. Giacopuzzi added seven kills and two aces, while De Mendoza finished with seven kills.

The Apaches now face the winner of Tuesday’s first round match between Santa Ynez and Gahr. Second round action is scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m.

That’ll give them one practice to address the issues Freberg felt hampered their play throughout Tuesday’s game.

According to De Mendoza, it’s just a matter of “passing and playing within the system.”

But based one what he’s seen from the Apaches in two games, Gabrielino coach Kevin McClure indicated that he would not be surprised if the Apaches made a deep postseason run.

“They’re second to (top-seeded) Burroughs,” McClure said. “I could totally see Arcadia playing them in the finals.”