MAR VISTA CLAIMS FIRST CROWN, HEADS TO STATE TOURNEY

Despite being the No. 1 seed in Division IV, Mar Vista High didn’t have much of a championship history.

The Mariners had never even made an appearance in the boys volleyball championship match.

So when they lost the first set, you could expect a moment of panic.

There was none.

As a result, Mar Vista claimed its first San Diego Section title with a 23-25, 2513, 25-18, 25-22 victory over No. 2 Del Lago Academy on Friday at Mission Hills High.

“This feels fantastic,” Mar Vista’s senior setter Hunter Thomas said. “We definitely had a case of nerves at the start, but we figured it out pretty fast.”

By winning an eighth straight match, Mar Vista (28-7) advances to next week’s state tournament.

The state pairings will be announced Sunday.

However, after the first set it looked as if Del Lago might be headed for the state playoffs.

The score was tied 12 times and the lead changed hands nine times behind Kai Detwiler’s three kills and one block as the Firebirds (23-10) grabbed the first momentum.

Mar Vista led the opening set 23-22 before Del Lago scored the set’s final three points.

“We’re a slow starting team,” Thomas said. “I rely on Ethan (Hastings) when we start to get into trouble.

“I just trusted my teammates. If I miss someone, I can go right back to them.

“You have to have very short-term memory to be a setter.”

Thomas had a trio of hitters that made the difference.

Hastings added a teamleading 14 kills with a block and an ace.

The Mariners also had Gabe Anaya with 12 kills and four blocks and Nate Ramos with 10 kills, three blocks and an ace.

Josh Dupree also contributed three kills and seven blocks.

Division I

Parker 3, Bishop’s 2: Ina back-and-forth match from the opening, No. 2 Parker prevailed after blowing a 12-5 lead in the fifth set to claim a 25-23, 16-25, 26-24, 23-25, 16-14 win over No. 9 Bishop’s.

With the score tied 14-14 in the final set, Parker got an unforced error and a final kill for victory.

Parker (24-12) held a 4842 edge in kills and Bishop’s (21-15) had a 34-21 edge in blocks.

Junior Ryan Fox led Parker with 16 kills followed by freshman Matthew Sedano with 15 kills and junior Nick Goskowicz with 14 kills and six blocks.

Junior Jameson Vaccaro had 21 kills and 12 blocks for Bishop’s, which also got 14 kills from Ryland Birchmeier.