BVB: Loyola adds a little finesse to Karch Kiraly TOC title

The all-tournament selections from champion Loyola were a testament to the tremendous ball control and defense the Cubs demonstrated throughout the weekend at the Karch Kiraly Tournament of Champions.

Setters Casey McGarry and Davis Boehle were named all-tournament and libero Matt Douglas was chosen as the MVP after the top-seeded Cubs swept third-seeded Corona del Mar, 25-23 ,25-23, 25-16 in Saturday’s final at JR Richards Gym.

Douglas is the heart of the Loyola team, starting the attack with pin-point passing and keeping rallies alive his digging. He frustrated hitters all weekend.

“It’s pretty incredible,” Loyola coach Mike Boehle said of Douglas being named the MVP. “He’s the catalyst behind our passing and our defense. We were in some pretty sticky situations where we were down by a few — and some of these teams were teeing off — and he would step right in because we had some blocking schemes that we would try. We knew we were going to get one on ones, but with Matt back there filling the gap, he just did a really good job of making great digs.”

Douglas’ passing and digging gave junior setters Davis Boehle (the coach’s son) and McGarry plenty of options.

“With the two setters we have, I thought it was pretty cool they honored them with all-tournament,” coach Boehle said. “They’re behind our offense, they’re our point guards. Both Casey and Davis did a remarkable job setting the right hitter in the right situations. And that’s what you want out of your setter. You want to make sure they’re running the offense and we’re getting the-one on-one match-ups and the mismatches. That’s the one thing I appreciate about having two really good setters: they are the coaches on the court.”

The Cubs went on a four-point run in the first set to take an 18-13 lead. But Corona del Mar fought back behind the play of middles Augie Miller and Will Hunter and setter Matt Ctvrtlik. In the front row, Ctvrtlik recorded back-to-back kills (one on a overpass) to pull the Sea Kings within one, 24-23. But Loyola came up with some clutch plays on a long rally to win the set point. Middle Jack Truman made a big block, Douglas dug a ball and Nassif recorded the set-clinching kill.

A kill by Kevin Fults gave Corona del Mar a 23-22 lead in the second set. Loyola answered with McGarry feeding the 6-9 Truman for the tying point followed by Scott Stoeckinger swiping the ball off a CdM block for the go-ahead point. Stoeckinger found an open spot in the deep corner for the winning point.

The Cubs roared out to a 7-0 lead in the third set behind the serving of Matt Reilly.

“I think we wore them out. We were serving lousy in the first two sets and then we went to float serves and it worked,” said Boehle.

Loyola defeated Newbury Park in four sets in the semifinals. Corona del Mar knocked off second-seeded Mira Costa in four sets in the other semifinal.

Sea King middles Miller and Hunter and outside hitter Sam Kobrine were selected to the all-tournament team.

Santa Barbara won a tough three-set match with Royal to finish in fifth place. The scores were 25-20, 25-22, 33-31. Dons libero Barron Mainz earned all-tournament team honors.

In the consolation final. Dos Pueblos outlasted Bellarmine Prep in five sets, 25-22, 26-24, 14-25, 18-25, 15-13. Eli Wopat of the Chargers was named to the all-tournament team.

San Marcos lost to West Ranch in the 11th-place match, 25-19, 25-19, 25-16.

Saturday’s results
Championship

Loyola def. Corona del Mar 25-23,25-23, 15-16
Third Place
Newbury Park def. Mira Costa 25-20, 25-16, 22-25, 19-25, 16-14
Fifth Place
Santa Barbara def. Royal 25-20, 25-22, 33-31
Seventh Place
Buchanan def. Simi Valley, 25-15, 25-19, 25-19
Consolation
Dos Pueblos def. Bellarmine Prep, 25-22, 26-24, 14-25, 18-25, 15-13
11th Place
West Ranch def. San Marcos, 25-19, 25-19, 25-16
13th Place
Esperanza def. Santa Ynez, 25-18, 23-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-13
15th Place
Buena def. Dos Pueblos JV

Championship semifinals
Loyola def. Newbury Park, 25-20, 20-25, 25-18, 25-16
Corona del Mar def. Mira Costa 25-16, 25-16, 21-25, 25-20

All-Tournament team
MVP—Matt Douglas, Loyola
Davis Boehle, Loyola
Casey McGarry, Loyola
Augie Miller, Corona del Mar
Will Hunter, Corona del Mar
Sam Kobrine, Corona del Mar
Eli Wopat, Dos Pueblos
Barron Mainz, Santa Barbara