San Marcos boys volleyball took home third place in the Redondo Union Classic on Saturday after going 5-1 on the weekend.
The Royals opened up play on day two with a three-set win over No. 13-ranked Long Beach Wilson, 16-25, 25-17, 15-11.
“Our libero and senior captain Cliff Ficker played great the entire tournament in serve receive,” San Marcos Head Coach Roger Kuntz said.
That victory advanced San Marcos into the quarterfinals against Clovis West, where they cruised to a two-set win thanks to strong play from Cameron Earls and Nate Loomer, 25-18, 25-14.
“We have been trying to get Nate to be consistent in the tough matches and at tough times and he accomplished that today,” Kuntz said. “Our backside got stronger in this tournament.”
The Royals then faced off against Torrey Pines in the semifinals, a team that came in as the No. 1 seed in the tournament.
In a matchup of heavyweights, San Marcos pulled out the first set but dropped the next two to lose the overall matchup and place third, 33-31, 17-25, 19-21.
“This was a championship battle and will hopefully make us tougher in our CIF playoff run,” Kuntz said. “Our outside hitters once again turned it on in this big match and it became a ferocious battle.”
After leading the team to the third-place finish, Jack Wilson and Mason Rice were each named to the All-Tournament Team.
The Royals (32-3) will host El Segundo in the opening round of the CIF-SS Div. 2 playoffs on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Thunderhut.
