Edison boys’ volleyball sweeps Fountain Valley, sits atop Wave League
After making a deep playoff run last season, the Edison High boys’ volleyball team appears to have remained on an upward trajectory.
The Chargers’ verticality, especially with a formidable block, has them as the favorite to win the Wave League crown.
Emerson Evans had eight kills, five block assists and three service aces, as visiting Edison swept Fountain Valley 25-16, 25-14, 25-17 on Friday evening.
Edison (15-7, 3-0 in the Wave League) took sole possession of first place with the win over Fountain Valley (18-3, 2-1) to cap the first half of league, positioning itself to make a run at its first league championship since 2019. The Chargers shared the Wave League title with Los Alamitos that season.
Last season saw Edison advance to the CIF Southern Section Division 3 quarterfinals, before dropping a five-set match to Aliso Niguel. Another year of growth has the Chargers in contention to make the Division 1 bracket.
“It’s a testament to how we’ve been working in the gym lately,” Edison coach Elias Perez said. “We’ve been really on the guys about discipline with our blocking moves, our attitude and the way we attack defense, and especially with our serving. The past couple of weeks, we’ve been missing a lot of serves.
“I think tonight was a great example of us finding the court, getting good block touches and doing the work on the defensive end today. Really, a lot of good work without the ball.”
Perez also noted that his team matched up against Division 1 competition several times before the scheduled Sunset Conference crossover contests. The Chargers took a set off of Newport Harbor in the Best of the West Tournament, the only team to do so over a 14-match stretch.
Newport Harbor had ridden a 15-match winning streak to the No. 1 overall ranking in the section, but Los Angeles Loyola beat the visiting Sailors 25-18, 25-16, 26-28, 25-20 to take over the top spot in the latest CIF poll. It was a rematch of the Division 1 final, won by the Sailors in five sets at Long Beach City College last spring.
The Division 1 and 2 combined rankings have four Sunset Conference teams in the top 10: No. 2 Newport Harbor, No. 4 Huntington Beach, No. 6 Corona del Mar and No. 9 Edison.
“I think a lot of that change just comes from our energy on the court,” Evans, a New York University commit, said of his team’s rise. “We’re picking up a lot more balls. We’re a lot scrappier than we used to be. Our block is so much better. We’re getting positive touches. Everyone is staying up. If we lose a point, it’s next ball side out.
“Our service pressure has been great the entire game. … There’s just a lot of the little things like scrappiness, block touches and all small things just adding up. I think that’s really helping us make the leap from Division 3 to where we are.”
Owen Banner had six kills and three total blocks for Edison. Nathan Jackson, CJ Addison, Brandon Peacock and Ben Winokur each had four kills. Johnny Braunstein and Grant Edmonds combined for 24 assists, while Braden Kliem and Jackson each provided 10 digs defensively.
Thomas Ho and Bennett Heydorn were prominent hitters for Fountain Valley, which is ranked No. 10 in Division 3. The Barons won the Tustin Tournament, and they also earned a five-set win over Los Alamitos in Sunset Conference crossover play to add to their résumé.
“I see potential,” Fountain Valley coach Rebecca Cheltenham said. “I think it’s a program with a bunch of boys who are willing to work and grind. I see us doing something with it, hopefully making the playoffs this year.”
Support our sports coverage by becoming a digital subscriber.
For more sports stories, visit latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/sports or follow us on Twitter @DailyPilotSport.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.
