The second annual Sweetwater Host Lions boys volleyball tournament wrapped up last Saturday at two playing sites in the South County region. Gold Division finals took place at Sweetwater High School while Silver Division finals took place at Mar Vista High School.
A total of 32 teams competed in the two-day event.
University City defeated Hilltop 26-24, 25-12 to win the Gold Division championship while El Capitan defeated Classical Academy 25-19, 25-19 to capture the Silver Division title.
“It was great to see teams transform over the two days,” said Sweetwater head coach Erik Hernandez, who served as tournament director. “There’s so much learning going on.”
Pool play in four divisions took place at Sweetwater High School with pool play in two other divisions hosted by Montgomery and Olympian high schools.
Of the eight teams represented in the two finals brackets (semifinals and championship matches), five teams were from South County.
In the Gold Division semifinals, University City defeated Sweetwater 25-16, 25-19, while defending Metro-Pacific League champion Hilltop defeated Montgomery 25-23, 25-20.
In the Silver Division semifinals, El Capitan defeated San Ysidro 25-19, 26-24, while Classical Academy defeated Lutheran 25-16, 25-20.
Tournament recap
Hilltop defeated West Hills in the opening round of the playoffs, then defeated Mira Mesa in the quarterfinals before defeating Montgomery 25-23, 20 in the semifinals.
Sweetwater advanced to the Gold Division semifinals on the strength of a first-round 2-0 win over Kearny and a 2-0 quarterfinal win over Metro-Pacific League rival Chula Vista, last year’s Division III finalist.
San Ysidro reached the Silver Division semifinals with wins over Valley Center (first round) and Mt. Miguel (quarterfinals).
The Gold Division playoffs were comprised of teams that finished first and second in their respective pools while the Silver Division playoffs were comprised of teams that finished third and fourth.
Pool champions included Sweetwater, Chula Vista, San Pasqual, University City, Montgomery, Bonita Vista, West Hills and Mira Mesa.
Montgomery defeated Escondido and Olympian to reach the Gold Division semifinals while Chula Vista defeated Morse and Olympian defeated Bonita Vista in a pair of first-round playoff match-ups.
University City made its championship run in the Gold Division by defeating, in order, Hoover, San Pasqual, Sweetwater and Hilltop.
El Capitan made its championship run in the Silver Division by defeating, in order, High Tech High San Diego, Coronado, San Ysidro and Classical Academy.
Hernandez is optimistic about his own team’s fortunes for the new season.
“We have six returning players who are ready to work hard all season,” the Sweetwater coach explained. ”We did compete in every game but were not able to get a league match win last year, and would like to challenge the other teams this year. Our young guys are now experienced and our offense is working smoothly early in the year.
“Hilltop is still very strong but all three other teams have some talented kids ready to challenge them.”
Sweetwater Host Lions Boys Volleyball Tournament
Pool Play
Pool 1: Sweetwater (3-0), Vincent Memorial (2-1), Mount Miguel (1-2), O’Farrell (0-3)
Pool 2: Chula Vista (3-0), Kearny (2-1), Valley Center (1-2), Crawford (0-3)
Pool 3: San Pasqual (3-0), Morse (2-1), El Capitan (1-2), San Ysidro (0-3)
Pool 4: University City (3-0), Castle Park (2-1), Coronado (1-2), High Tech High San Diego (0-3)
Pool 5: Montgomery (3-0), Hoover (2-1), Classical Academy (1-2), High Tech High Chula Vista (0-3)
Pool 6: Bonita Vista (3-0), Escondido Charter (1-2), Liberty Charter (1-2), Mar Vista (1-2)
Pool 7: West Hills (3-0), Olympian (2-1), Southwest (1-2), Chula Vista Learning Community Charter (0-3)
Pool 8: Mira Mesa (3-0), Hilltop (2-1), Lutheran (1-2), Monte Vista (0-3)
Gold Division Playoffs
First Round
Sweewater defeated Kearny 2-0
Chula Vista defeated Morse 2-0
San Pasqual defeated Castle Park 2-0
University City defeated Hoover 2-0
Montgomery defeated Escondido 2-0
Olympian defeated Bonita Vista 2-1
Hilltop defeated West Hills 2-0
Mira Mesa defeated Vincent Memorial 2-0
Quarterfinals
Sweetwater defeated Chula Vista 2-0
University City defeated San Pasqual 2-1
Montgomery defeated Olympian 2-0
Hilltop defeated Mira Mesa 2-0
Semifinals
University City defeated Sweetwater 25-16, 25-19
Hilltop defeated Montgomery 25-23, 25-20
Championship
University City defeated Hilltop 26-24, 25-12
Silver Division Playoffs
First Round
Mount Miguel defeated Crawford
San Ysidro defeated Valley Center
El Capitan defeated High Tech High San Diego
Coronado defeated High Tech High Chula Vista
Classical Academy defeated Mar Vista
Liberty Charter defeated CVLCC
Southwest defeated Monte Vista
Lutheran defeated O’Farrell
Quarterfinals
San Ysidro defeated Mount Miguel
El Capitan defeated Coronado
Classical Academy defeated Liberty Charter
Lutheran defeated Southwest
Semifinals
El Capitan defeated San Ysidro 25-19, 26-24
Classical Academy defeated Lutheran 25-16, 25-20
Championship
El Capitan defeated Classical Academy 25-19, 25-19
Bonita Vista baseball team makes successful season debut
The Bonita Vista High School baseball team opened the annual Hilltop-Lolita’s tournament with a pair of wins last week — 5-2 over Rancho Bernardo on March 10 and 4-0 over Valhalla last Friday.
Alex Verdugo earned the Barons’ player of the game honor in the season opening win over Rancho Bernardo by holding the Broncos to two runs on two hits in a complete game effort. Verdugo struck out five batters and walked two. He also helped his own cause by driving in two runs at the plate. Joey Hernandez also finished the game with two RBI.
Nick Montoya and Joe Akino combined on the shutout win over Valhalla. The pair held the Norsemen to three hits.
