The San Marcos boys finished in a tie for fifth place at the two-day Redondo Tournament after splitting matches in Saturday’s Gold Division playoffs.
The Royals swept Granada Hills in Saturday’s first match before losing to fourth-seed Long Beach Wilson in the quarterfinals.
The Royals entered the tournament as the sixth seed out of 28 teams, and went 2-1 in Friday’s pool play. Led by senior captain Luke Walker at the opposite position, San Marcos beat Wiseburn Da Vinci and Burroughs in straight sets, 25-14, 25-12 and 25-15, 25-14, respectively.
“Luke added stability and leadership throughout the tournament and showed that he can play up to any level,” Royals head coach Roger Kuntz said.
San Marcos closed the day Friday with a three-set loss to Eagle Rock on scores of 17-25, 25-22, 21-19
“We started strong and then we were exposed by our lack of defense and communication,” Kuntz said.
In Saturday’s first match against Granada Hills, senior captain Kyle Foley and junior Cliff Ficker were strong in the middle for the 25-14, 25-21 sweep.
“Junior Cameron Earls played out of position as our starting outside hitter and did a solid job passing and attacking,” Kuntz said. “Very proud of his all-around game as one of our premier setters.”
In the quarterfinal match, San Marcos faced Long Beach Wilson, who they had beaten in the CIF quarterfinals last season.
“Wilson was big and solid in this match,” Kuntz said. “They had great servers and played inspired defense.”
Wilson won the match 26-24, 25-15.
San Marcos senior captain and setter Hansen Streeter was named to the All Tournament Team.
“Junior Jack Wilson was an elite attacker in every match,” Kuntz added.
The Royals will be back in action Tuesday with a match at Oak Park.