Woodbridge boys volleyball team eliminated by Quartz Hill in CIF semifinal round

Spencer Sloniger of Woodbridge (right) skies above the net for a point Wednesday. (Photos courtesy Harrison Zhang, For OC Sports Zone).

For a while, it looked like Woodbridge’s boys volleyball team might force a fifth and final set against Quartz Hill in the semifinals of the CIF Division 3 playoffs Wednesday night.

But visiting Quartz Hill regrouped, finished strong and won the set 25-23 and took the match in four sets to move into the finals on Saturday against Peninsula at Cerritos College.

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Quartz Hill had what appeared to be a comfortable 18-11 lead in the fourth set but Woodbridge cut the lead to 23-22 forcing a timeout by the visiting team and sending the Warrior fans into an uproar.

On the next play, Woodbridge inititally appeared to tie the set 23-23, but the officials ruled that a Warrior player had touched the net and the score was changed to 24-22 Quartz Hill. Nathan Merren eventually got the winning point and sealed Quartz Hill’s trip to the finals with the 25-23 win.

“We had a net violation late, we were just a little careless at the net,” said Woodbridge Coach Alan Ho. “It was the right call, we definitely did.”

Woodbridge got off to a great start rallying from a 3-point deficit early to win the first set 25-20.

The second set was tied 18-18 before Quartz Hill won 25-22 with Nolan Taflinger registering the final point. Three consecutive service aces by Spencer Sloniger kept the Warriors close early on in the set.

The third set was tied 8-8 before Quartz Hill took charge and won 25-19 to take a lead in the match.

Quartz Hill, inspired by some enthusiastic fans, was able to limit its mistakes and made the big plays when it had to.

It marked the end of a great post-season run for Woodbridge, which was trying to reach the finals for the first time in Ho’s nine-year coaching career.

“What I’m proud of is that we kind of stuck in and fought that fourth game,” Ho said. “We were obviously down a little; we just took long to get going and we still hung in there and gave ourselves a chance toward the end.

“But in the end, we just left too much on the table and gave too many points away, service errors, hitting errors. When we started making our run, we started putting the ball in better spots.”

Woodbridge was led by setter Terry Luo, who had 32 assists. Ben Montplaisir had 17 kills and Sloniger had four aces.

“Obviously, everyone wants to keep going,” Ho said. “At the same time, it’s got to end at some point, but I’m proud that they went out there and played and I think we were probably not looked as at being able to advance this far and we did that, so that’s accomplishing something.”

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