The boys volleyball teams for El Camino Real, Taft, Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences and East Valley won CIF LA City championships over the weekend at Birmingham High School.
Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences and East Valley earned their programs’ first City championships while El Camino Real and Taft ended a near 10-year period without a City banner.
El Camino Real stormed through the Open Division bracket and claimed the program’s second title by defeating No. 1 seed Venice in four sets.
Tyler Lee led El Camino Real with 14 kills. Connor Koski added 11 kills and four blocks while outside hitter Christian Romero tallied eight kills and one block.
The Royals will compete this week in Division II of the CIF Southern California Regional playoffs. They will host fifth-seeded Classical Academy, the CIF San Diego Open Division runner-up, in a first-round match Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Taft made it clear in all three rounds of the City playoffs why deserved the top seed in Division I. The Toreadors dropped just one set in the three matches, and swept Carson, 25-10, 25-20, 25-17, Friday in the championship game.
Steven Whalen led Taft with 20 kills, eight digs and a pair of blocks, and Edan Kashman contributed 18 digs.
The Toreadors are also in the regional playoffs. They are the No. 4 seed in Division III and will host Kennedy of La Palma on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
After losing in LA City title matches the past two seasons, Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences (VAAS) finally earned its first City banner.
VAAS beat Mendez in four sets, 20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-15, in the Division II final Saturday.
“We played our game,” VAAS coach Gabriel Islas said in a phone interview. “It’s kind of funny describing Mendez, they’re almost like a clone of us. We’re very similar teams: undersized, very skilled, very good at passing and they play the game the right way. They respect the game.
“We just went in knowing that it wasn’t going to be easy. It was a pretty even match in my opinion.”
Of the 14 senior for the Vipers, 13 were on both CIF runner-up teams in 2023 and 2024, making the championship and redemption sweeter.
“I’ve had the majority of them since they were freshmen,” Islas said. “Most of them have played club for me as well. They’re really hard workers and dedicated.”
“I give the kids all the credit in the world,” he added. “They bought into my system, my philosophies, and they worked really hard. Now they’re reaping the benefits and I’m glad they got that championship.”
Setter Marco Farabolini was praised by Islas for how well he ran the team’s offense. Izac Garcia did most of the damage while libero Jacob Lopez anchored the defense.
VAAS is in the Division III bracket of the regional playoffs and will travel to San Diego to face Clairemont in the first round Tuesday at 6 p.m.
After several rough seasons, East Valley reached the postseason and soared to the Division III championship match Friday.
East Valley won the title with a sweep, 25-21, 25-18, 25-17, of Maywood CES in the final.
The Falcons defense limited the Wolfpack to just 15 kills overall, just four in each of the second and third sets. East Valley had 59 digs digs in the final.
Xavier Rowe led the East Valley offense with 17 kills while Jeremy Kim anchored the defense with 17 digs.
“It meant anything is possible and they made history,” Falcons coach Bryan Ronsayro said in an email. “They are the first (East Valley) program to ever win a championship title… We still have more work to do.”
East Valley is the No. 2 seed in Division IV of the regional playoffs. It will host Wildwood, the CIF Southern Section Division 8 champion, in the regional opener Tuesday at 6 p.m.
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