Kyle Aitcheson and Andrew Tolles had outstanding days on Saturday as they sparked Laguna Blanca over St. Margaret’s 25-21 to claim the championship of the Chadwick Boys Volleyball Tournament.
The Owls remained undefeated at 7-0 after winning three pool-play matches and two playoff games. They got past St. Margaret’s 25-23, 20-25, 16-14 in a tight 3-setter, swept Mary Star 25-7, 25-20 and then went three sets with Pacific Lutheran before pulling out a 25-19, 23-25, 15-10 decision.
They downed Wiseburn-Da Vinci 25-22 in the semifinals, then knocked off St. Margaret’s for the title.
Aitcheson, a setter, was named tournament MVP with 103 assists, 10 kills, 15 digs and 4 aces on the day. Tolles had 36 kills and 38 digs to earn all-tournament honors. Miles Sedlin (27 digs, 4 aces) took home the Jakemer Award as the most inspirational player.
Finn Walker also had a fine tournament, tying Tolles for the kill lead on Saturday with 36. He also had 18 digs and five aces.
“It was a day of great volleyball as we overcame adversity and had different players step up in key roles,” said assistant coach Katherine Niksto. “Kyle was a strong leader all day and set some of his best volleyball of the season after returning from an ankle injury mid-match during pool play. Outside hitters Andrew Tolles and Finn Walker were both outstanding offensively and defensively and really paced the team with their steady serve receive passing.
“We also got great contributions from our three freshman — Jack Shiebler (24 digs) who stepped into the right side filling in for a missing senior, Miles Sedlin who was steady at libero all day and Freddie Russell (13 kills) who make an impact from the middle. It really was a team effort today, and we are so proud of the way the guys battled in every match.”
The Owls will travel to Santa Clara on Thursday for a 6 p.m. match.
