Loyola and Mira Costa, two of the most storied high school boys volleyball programs in the country, bring their high-powered attacks to the Karch Kiraly Tournament of Champions this weekend at Santa Barbara High.
The annual spring bash of elite teams kicks off Friday at 11 a.m., at J.R. Richards Gym. The other first-round matches are scheduled for 12:45 p.m., 2:30 at 4:15. The quarterfinals are at 6 p.m. and 7:45. Semifinal matches begin at 10:45 a.m. on Saturday and the championship is slated for 6:15 p.m. The teams will be playing best-of-five matches.
Santa Barbara, San Marcos, Dos Pueblos and Santa Ynez are the local representatives in the 16-team tournament.
The tourney features five top-10 teams from CIF-SS Division 1: No. 2 Loyola, No. 3 Mira Costa, No. 4 Corona del Mar, No. 7 Newbury Park and 10th-ranked Santa Barbara. The field also includes perennial powers Bellarmine Prep of San Jose and Buchanan of Fresno.
Loyola (15-1) is making its first appearance in the TOC. The Cubs are one of the winningest programs of all time, with 11 CIF championships in their history. Under coach Mike Boehle, they’ve won five titles (2010, 09, 05, 04, 03) and been to the finals five out of the last six years.
Loyola’s only loss this season came against No. 1 Huntington Beach. The Cubs have lost to the Oilers in the last two Division 1 finals.
Senior outside hitter Matt Reilly and senior middle blocker Kyle Jasuta and 6-10 junior middle Jack Truman lead the Loyola attack
Mira Costa (12-2), the tournament’s second seed, has eight CIF championship plaques in its trophy case. Coach Sean Shoptaw has guided the Mustangs two titles (2012, 2008) in five finals appearances.
The Mustangs are led by USC-bound outside hitter Blake Markland and junior outside hitters Jackson Wedbush and Roy McFarland.
Corona del Mar is a team to watch. The Sea Kings, ranked No. 2 in Orange County, finished second to Huntington Beach at the Orange County Championships three weeks ago. Several key players joined the team late because they were playing for the basketball team that reached the CIF-SS 3A final. Among those players is junior setter Matt Ctvrtlik, the youngest son of three-time U.S. indoor volleyball Olympian and 1988 gold medalist Bob Ctvrtlik.
2015 KARCH KIRALY TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
First-Round Matches
Loyola vs. TBD, 11 a.m.
San Marcos vs. Royal, 11 a.m.
Buchanan vs. Bellarmine Prep, 12:45 p.m.
Esperanza vs. Newbury Park, 12:45 p.m.
Corona del Mar vs. Santa Ynez, 2:30 p.m.
Santa Barbara vs. West Ranch, 2:30 p.m.
Simi Valley vs. Dos Puebos, 4:15 p.m.
Buena vs. Mira Costa, 4:15 p.m.
