Centaurs Spikers Lose in Southern Section Semifinals

Through the first three rounds of the CIF Southern Section Division 4 playoffs, the glass slipper seemed to fit the Culver City High boys volleyball team perfectly. The Centaurs had upset the No. 5 seed and No. 3 seed on their way to the semifinals and were determined to pull off an even bigger upset Tuesday night.

However, waiting there was a team equally as determined in second-seeded San Gabriel, which ended the Centaurs' Cinderella run with a 25-15, 25-20, 25-17 home win that was not quite as easy as the scores indicated, but decisive nonethless. 

"My hat's off to them—there's a reason why they are the No. 2 seed," first-year Coach Joe Manzo said. "They are well-coached. On any given day any team can win a match, last night it was San Gabriel's time."

As they have all season long, setter Alex Aguilera and hitter Andy Aguila led Culver City. Aguila was held to a playoff-low 10 kills and Kekoa Mathews added six as the Centaurs (17-14-1) finished with 25 for the match. Aguilera had 25 assists and 11 digs and Morris Ellis also had 11 digs for Culver City. Aguila finished the season with 268 kills. 

"San Gabriel has a lot of weapons, but its strongest weapon is their passing," Manzo said. "Their passing allowed their setter to distribute the ball to whomever he wanted, when he wanted. They came out strong and continued that way through all three games. San Gabriel has a great scrambling defense and takes pride in not allowing the ball to hit the floor without a body on the floor after it—and that showed last night. Their defense was better than ours and that allowed their offense to rise to the occasion."

It is the farthest Culver City has ever gone in the CIF playoffs and the challenge for Manzo will be trying to replace 10 graduating seniors.

"The boys were willing to fight and they gave a great effort, but it was not enough last night," Manzo said. "We put some balls down on our attack and we were able to keep the ball alive on their attacks. We had our ups and downs with our consistency of ball control and control of the game. There were times when we were in control of each game, but it seemed like the times were too far out of reach as far as the score goes."  

John Phang led the Almont League champion Matadors (26-3) with 13 kills while Kevin Quach and Harrison Tang each added 12, providing a balanced attack that kept Culver City off-balance all match long.

"I am personally proud of each and everyone of these guys," Manzo said. "Where we came from back in February to where we ended our season in the semifinals of the CIF was wonderful. This team did fit the bill of an underdog story and we came up two chapters short. Hopefully in the future we can make a similiar or further run towards a CIF championship."

San Gabriel will meet Santa Monica in the championship match at 4 p.m. Saturday at Cypress College. The Ocean League champion Vikings (22-11) ousted No. 4-seeded Windward in four sets in Tuesday's other semifinal.