PREP VOLLEYBALL : Huntington Beach Wins Title Match

Huntington Beach recovered from deficits in three of five games to defeat Capistrano Valley, 14-16, 15-12, 2-15, 15-7, 15-13, Saturday night at Cerritos College for the CIF Southern Section Division I boys’ volleyball championship.

Undefeated and top-seeded Capistrano Valley (20-1) wasted leads of 8-2 in Game 2 and 7-2 in Game 4, then squandered an 8-3 advantage in the final game in the 2-hour 50-minute match.

Huntington Beach senior outside hitter Shadd Walker had five kills in the final game, including a successful dink on match point.

Walker finished with 25 kills as the third-seeded Oilers (23-0) won a championship after falling short to Santa Barbara in last year’s Division I final.

The loss spoiled a 39-kill performance by Capistrano Valley senior middle blocker Greg Seiffert. Seiffert had nine kills in the final game.

Division II--Sparked by senior middle blocker Paul Nihipali’s 43 kills, Anaheim Esperanza avenged last year’s five-game championship loss with a 16-14, 15-10, 15-12 victory over top-seeded Simi Valley Royal (20-1).

Division III--Senior outside hitter Derek Beard led a balanced attack with 13 kills to guide top-seeded Whittier Christian (19-0) to its third consecutive section title with a 15-5, 15-12, 15-9 victory over second-seeded Bellflower St. John Bosco (18-1).