Tustin Is Beaten by Dos Pueblos

It was only the second game, but it represented Tustin’s best opportunity to beat Goleta Dos Pueblos in the finals of Southern Section Division II boys’ volleyball Saturday at Cypress College. The Tillers let it slip away, ending any shot at their second title in four years.

Fourth-seeded Dos Pueblos took advantage of the extra breathing room the two-game lead offered and held on to defeat Tustin, 15-2, 16-14, 14-16, 15-8.

The unseeded Tillers (16-5) looked overmatched in the opening game. They took a 2-0 lead but gave up the next 15 points. Tustin charged out to a 5-2 lead in the second game, but Dos Pueblos ran off seven consecutive points.

Dos Pueblos (19-5) maintained a 13-10 lead in the second game when Tustin rallied to tie the score, 13-13, on a hitting error by Dos Pueblos. The Tillers reached game point on a tough serve by Casey Winn. Tustin’s Daniel Dizon had three chances to end the game, but the Chargers were able to keep the first two spikes off the floor and earn a sideout when Dizon hit the third long. Regaining serve, Dos Pueblos didn’t relinquish, scoring three straight points off poorly passed balls by Tustin to win the game.

“When we came back in that game we thought we had them,” Tustin Coach Archie Ochoa said. “We just couldn’t get those balls down.”

Dos Pueblos Coach Mike Beresford said the comeback in the second game was critical.

“We would have been toast in a fifth game,” he said. “We were tired. At the timeouts when I approached them and said what I said, there were a lot of vacant eyes out there.”

Tustin avoided a sweep, coming back in the third game. Dos Pueblos led, 7-3, when the Tillers scored 10 consecutive points. After the Chargers answered with six straight points to tie the score, Tustin moved ahead and won the game on blocks by Jerry Smith and Eduardo Araza.

But the Tillers gave up the first five points in the fourth game. They managed to cut the lead to one on an ace by Dizon, but surrendered seven of the next eight points to end the match .

“I sort of have an adage I tell these guys all the time,” Beresford said. “When things are going bad, the more things are going good. If you’re way ahead, you’re never as good as you think you are at that moment, and when they’re way behind, they’re never as bad as you think at that moment. The truth lies somewhere between those things.”

Dos Pueblos had three players 6 feet 4 or taller. The Tillers had only one starter taller than 6-1, junior Kevin Kowalski. Tustin tried to keep the Chargers’ block off balance by using short sets to Kowalski, who finished with a team-high 28 kills. Senior Daniel Vander Roest had 15 kills and Araza 13.

Dan Hoefer, Dos Pueblos’ 6-7 outside hitter, finished with 32 kills and teammate Jess Lillyman had 21.