Breakers Advance to Volleyball Final

Laguna Beach reached its second consecutive CIF Southern Section Division 2 boys volleyball final with a 26-28, 25-22, 25-19, 25-22 victory over Beckman in a semifinal match Tuesday night at Laguna Beach High.

Senior outside hitter Robbie McKnight led the second-seeded Breakers with 41 kills, while senior outside hitter Alek Burk and junior outside hitter Austin Hillemann each had seven. Junior setter Jack Winn had 52 assists for the Breakers, who will face top-seeded Corona del Mar in the title game Saturday at Cypress College at 4:30 p.m.

Beckman had fallen behind, 21-15, in the fourth game before rallying to cut its deficit to 22-21 and threaten to send the match to a deciding fifth game. But the Breakers went to McKnight, who scored the final three points to put the match away. The match point came when McKnight went up to tap a ball over a block attempt and inside the sideline.

The Breakers had taken seemingly comfortable leads in the final three games, but each time Beckman rallied to apply some pressure. However, Laguna Beach was able to regain control each time. “I think we get a little caught up in the hype sometimes and we just needed to settle down and play more consistent,” McKnight said.

The Breakers had taken a 10-5 lead in the first game before the Patriots started their comeback. Beckman would take a 27-26 lead off a kill down the middle by senior middle blocker Jeff Austin. The Patriots won the game, 28-26, when the Breakers had a communications breakdown after a block and allowed the ball to drop in the middle of the court.

In the second game, the Breakers jumped to a 16-10 lead after another kill off a block by McKnight. But Beckman was able to trim its deficit to 17-16 before a kill down the middle by McKnight put the Breakers up 18-16. Burk then tapped an over pass into the open court to give the Breakers a 19-16 lead. Sophomore middle blocker Maxx McCarter got a solo block in the middle to push the advantage to 20-16.

Beckman cut its deficit to 22-21, but a long serve gave the ball back to the Breakers, along with a 23-21 lead. A wide cross-court attempt by Beckman went wide to make it 24-21 and Hillemann ended the game with a kill down the left line to even the match at 1-1.

In the third game, the Breakers led, 23-16, before a couple of miscues by the Breakers and a kill through a block attempt by Beckman senior outside hitter Andy Little cut the Patriots' deficit to 24-19. McKnight finished the game with a kill off a block by Beckman that went wide.

The Breakers have face No. 1 Corona del Mar twice this season with the Sea Kings winning both matches. However, with Laguna Beach going in as the defending champion and riding a 13-game playoff win streak, coach Lance Stewart said his team knows what to expect.

“It’s kind of where we expect to be every year," he said. "We’ve worked hard to get there and now we’ll just let it all hang out.”