PREP VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP : Laguna Beach Swats Depleted Estancia

LAGUNA BEACH —  With its top player taking statistics instead of making them, the Estancia High School volleyball team barely put up a fight against Laguna Beach.

Estancia’s Matt Fuerbringer, one of Orange County’s top players, was out with a strained lower back and kept stats as the Eagles dropped a 15-3, 15-5, 15-10 Pacific Coast League match at Laguna Beach.

Paul Buss and Chris Seale had seven kills each to lead Laguna Beach (4-2, 1-0 in league). Pete Hastings had three kills and Jim Faulkner four for Estancia (2-6, 0-1).

Estancia had started the season 0-5, but was 2-1 since Fuerbringer joined the team after basketball season.

Fuerbringer, a 6-foot-5 junior, led the Eagles’ basketball team to the State Division III title in March.

But his back began giving him trouble after his first three volleyball matches, and Coach Tom Pestolesi encouraged him to sit out the league opener.

“It’s just sore from basketball and volleyball,” Fuerbringer said. “Hopefully, I’ll only be out one game.”

Laguna Beach Coach Mike Soylular said Fuerbringer’s absence opened up the middle.

“They really missed him,” Soylular said of Estancia. “He’s not only their bread-and-butter player, but also their heart and soul. He’s the one who gets them going.”

Estancia couldn’t get going in the first two games, trailing the entire way.

Seale had two kills and Buss had two blocks in the second game as Laguna Beach built leads of 6-2 and 14-3.

Estancia began using its height advantage in the third game, setting up the block over the middle with Jason Javage, Jeff Byrne and Matt Hanley. The Eagles led, 10-7, but Brad Berberian had two kills to spark an 8-0 Laguna Beach run that ended the match.

“That third game is always the most difficult to win,” Soylular said. “Our kids aren’t at the intensity level that we want them to be. They’ll reach a high level for a while, then drop back down to a lower level.”

In the Sunset League:

Edison 3, Marina 2--Sixth-ranked Edison held off a comeback by third-ranked Marina in the final game for a 15-13, 9-15, 9-15, 15-6, 15-12 victory at Edison.

Edison led, 12-6, in the final game and appeared to be in control. But two hitting errors and a net violation by the Chargers keyed a 5-0 run by Marina. Adam Sterck had a block and Joe McCarthy had a kill down the stretch to lead the Chargers.

McCarthy, a junior outside hitter, finished with a game-high 25 kills, while Sterck added 18 and Josh Snyder 15.

“This team has been so concerned with statistics the last few weeks that I decided not to keep any this time and just let them play,” Edison Coach Tim Wetzel said. “We lost a lot of five-game matches like this earlier in the year.”

The victory kept Edison (3-2, 2-1) in the chase for the league title with Marina and Huntington Beach. All three teams are ranked in the top six in the county.

“This is by far the toughest league in California,” Wetzel said.

The loss dropped Marina (4-2, 3-1) one game behind Huntington Beach (8-1, 4-0) in the league race. The two teams meet Friday night at Huntington Beach.

“This loss puts a little more pressure on us,” Marina Coach John Burns said. “We have a big one on Friday. We can jump right back in the league race with a win.”

Dennis Winners had 20 kills and nine blocks, and John Mull added 17 kills for Marina. Setter Greg Gratteau had 45 assists for the Vikings.

Huntington Beach 3, Westminster 0--Jeff Vanderwal had seven kills as visiting Huntington Beach swept, 15-4, 15-7, 15-13.

In another Pacific Coast League game:

Laguna Hills 3, Century 0--Laguna Hills won, 15-3, 15-5, 15-3, in the league opener for both schools. Eric Davis had six kills and Paul Lamott four for the host Hawks (3-3, 1-0).

Trabuco Hills 3, Costa Mesa 0--Nick Pivearoff’s 10 kills led Trabuco Hills (2-3, 1-0) to a 15-1, 15-10, 15-11 victory. Khang Lai had 11 kills for host Costa Mesa (0-4, 0-1).

In the Empire League:

Esperanza 3, Los Alamitos 0--Brad Goldston had 13 kills and Chris Pitzak had 29 assists in host Esperanza’s 15-1, 15-2, 15-5 victory. Esperanza is 7-0, 1-0.

Foothill 3, Cypress 0--Tim Curtis and Matt Vandrey had 10 kills each in visiting Foothill’s 15-5, 15-10, 16-14 victory. Nick Kramer had 21 assists for Foothill (1-0, 4-5).