Beckman boys volleyball team stays focused and defeats Tustin in playoff opener

Karl Stenlund led Beckman to a first round victory over Tustin (Photos Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).

Beckman’s boys volleyball team held its own on its home court Tuesday evening in the opening round of the CIF Division 2 playoffs.

No. 3 seeded Beckman held off a tough Tustin team to win 25-20, 25-19, 25-16 and advance into the second round on Thursday.

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The Patriots didn’t have the typical home-court edge as hundreds of Tustin fans helped back one side of the gym and outnumbered the spirited Beckman fans with their vocal support.

“That’s an atmosphere that’s so hard to play in,” said Beckman Coach Darin McBain. “That was a great win, we’re moving on but honestly the experience we just got from having to deal with that (the Tustin crowd support) is going to take us pretty far.

“They had three times as many fans as we did. That’s what it should be like. I love that.”

Senior Karl Stenlund led Beckman with 21 kills, two blocks and two aces.

“Obviously, he’s our guy in big situations,” McBain said.

“Coming into this gym, there was a lot of energy,” said Stenlund, who has committed to play for Long Beach State. “Tustin brings a lot of energy to whatever gym they go to. The first set, we were a little startled by the amount of energy that Tustin was giving.

“But on the second set, we were able to fight off the crowd cheering and all that and just play our game and we played a lot better.”

Beckman also got a solid effort from Aaman Soma, who had eight kills and one block.

“His eight kills are impressive, he was really active and he got us out of some tough situations,” McBain said.

Jake Morrison also contributed with five kills for Beckman.

It was the first match-up ever in boys volleyball between the two teams. The schools are only a few miles apart and both part of the Tustin Unified School District.

Tustin Coach Joanna Lane was proud of her squad’s effort and said she and her players appreciated the great support from their fans.

“They show up, that is 100 percent all of the Tillers spirit, showing up and bringing everything that they did,” Lane said. “Obviously, we wish that was a different outcome but I thought they (her players) played tough and played hard.

“For a first round match, we gave it all that we had and I’m super proud of them.”

Like many teams, Tustin tried to figure out a way to contain Stenlund.

“That was sort of our goal, stop Karl,” Lane said. “I thought we passed well and we moved the ball around well and we did a really good job. For our first time in Division 2, I think that’s a great showing to show up and be an un-ranked team against a No. 3 team.”

Tustin libero Jensen Nguyen had 12 digs, Jeromah Luelemaga had a .600 hitting percentage before he injured his ankle and had to leave the match, Nathan Cline had eight kills and Sishir Giri and Colin Boone had seven kills each.

Seven players returned from last year’s squad which reached the CIF Division 3 finals, losing to Downy in four sets.

“We brought back four of our six starters, which was awesome,” Lane said. “I’m so proud of them, our season got cut short a little bit. This senior class was part of the group that helped us get to Division 2.”

Beckman moves on to face either El Segundo on the road Thursday night in the semifinals.

-Tim Burt, OC Sports Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com