Garey prevails in playoffs over Santa Rosa Academy

MENIFEE » Santa Rosa Academy had plenty of firepower at the net Monday night. But as the kill total rose during the match, so did the amount of errors for the upstart Rangers.

Garey’s scrappiness and stellar defensive play extended several points until its opponent made unforced errors. The Vikings pulled out a few close games and posted a 2516, 25-27, 25-21, 25-20 victory over Santa Rosa Academy to advance to the CIF Southern Section Division 6 quarterfinals.

Garey (17-5) returns to action tonight for a home match against No. 3-seeded

Wiseburn Davinci (26-8).

Santa Rosa Academy (12-5) had a clear size advantage in Monday night’s match, with a handful of 6-footers in the lineup. The Rangers finished with 51 kills — 15 more than their opponent — but they also had 36 attacking errors — 22 more than Garey.

Garey’s back row, led by senior libero Fernando Aguilar, was superb in keeping the ball off the floor.

“That is exactly how we won our Miramonte League championship,” Vikings coach Arturo Avila said. “We faced teams with harder swingers, but our defense has been key to our success all season long. Whenever we make those pushes, it’s because our defense is locked in and keeping the ball alive.”

All four sets were up for grabs, but Garey put together key runs to claim three of them.

“A lot of schools have some outstanding volleyball players,” Avila said. “But the area my kids come from, there’s just something inside of them. It’s heart that helps us win these tough ones.”

Ulises Robles had 10 kills to lead the way for Garey, and Angel Mendoza and Alam Sanchez each finished with eight kills. Aguilar had 14 digs to lead the defensive effort.

Santa Rosa Academy middle blocker Marcus Mccray had a match-high 16 kills, seven of those coming in the final set.