Cypress High’s boys volleyball team defeated Pacifica, 25-17, 25-10, 25-17, in an Empire League match on Thursday at Cypress High.
The Centurions improved to 3-0 in the Empire League with the win. It’s a solid start for a Cypress team that went 4-6 in league last year to finish fourth in the standings. First-year head coach Alex Griffiths said the team has made its biggest strides in playing with a cohesiveness.
“I like that we’re finally learning how to work with each other,” Griffiths said.
After winning the second set by a lopsided score, the Centurions were looking to put Pacifica away in straight sets. But the Mariners came out strong and grabbed an early lead. The Centurions battled back to tie the set at 7-7 and would then go on a run to gain control.
The Centurions went on a 5-0 run to take a 12-7 lead. Chris Cons had consecutive points for the Centurions, one on a solo block and another on a second-hit tap to the middle of the court. That put the Cypress lead at 14-9, but Pacifica would rally from there.
The Mariners closed the gap to 14-12, before hitting an attempt into the net to give Cypress a 15-12 lead. From there the Centurions would go on another run to push the lead to 19-12. Kyle Farmer had three consecutive ace serves to complete the 4-0 run.
Pacifica would close the gap a little but could only get as close as 21-16 before the Centurions set up to win the match. Erik Papke had a kill from the left side and followed that with an ace serve that rolled over the net and dropped in to push the lead to 23-16.
Griffiths said she likes how the team has been able to get productive play from a lot of players.
Cons is giving the team stability at the setter position. Among the offense, the Farmer twins (Kyle and Andy) have been leading the outside hitting.
Pacifica and Kennedy were tied for second place in the league race last year, with Tustin winning the title.
The Centurions will play at Kennedy on Thursday (April 14) and will host Tustin on Tuesday. Both matches are scheduled for 4:30 p.m.