Anaheim-With its hopes of the championship at stake, the volleyball team boys d’Esperanza relied on its composure in the decisive moments of the semi-final match of CIF-SS on Saturday evening.
The Aztecs have made a 5-0 sequence to finish the match and win their first trip to the CIF-SS final since 2014.
Esperanza defeated Newbury Park in five sets, 25-12, 25-17, 19-25, 21-25, 16-14, in Esperanza High.
The Azteques (20-11) will face Kennedy in a completely orange county final on Friday or Saturday May 16-17, on a site to be announced.
Kennedy beat Vista Murrieta in four sets in the semi-finals of division 5 on Saturday evening.
Esperanza def. Newbury Park in five sets, 25-12, 25-17, 19-25, 21-25, 16-14 to go to the final of division 5.@ocvarsity @vcspreps pic.twitter.com/nlhrv0ivtn
– David Delgado🇪🇨 (@davidddelgado_oc) May 11, 2025
Despite the follow-up of 14-11 in the fifth set, the coach of Esperanza, Jordyn Griggs, believed in his team until the end.
“One of the last things I said to boys was:” What a privilege is to be an Esperanza Aztec and above all part of this volleyball program “,” she said. “These boys are like a brotherhood and I do not see much feedback like that very often, you know, 11-14 in the fifth. It’s quite heavy and deep to come back, and I don’t see many teams doing it. But I had faith that this team could do it right according to the heart they have.”
The senior in front of Carson Dyer rose on the service line with the Aztecs dragging 14-12 after a large swing by Ty Lemmon Senior of the Aztecs, who stopped the first match opportunity of the Panthers.
“Carson is one of our most specific servers and I was so grateful that it was there,” said Griggs. “Obviously, we had a little chance with a few calls here and there that helped fill this gap a little. But I saw these boys come back from the deficits, and therefore there was a part of me that was a little nervous that we may be trapped and the only reason we would make, would be a lack of confidence somewhere, no lack of competence.”
The AS of Dyer equaled the match 14-14 before the Aztecs finished the return with two additional points to win the match.
“I have never been in this situation before, so it was my first thought and you know, all glory to God,” said Dyer, “that’s what gave me my strength to go back and serve how I did it. The Lord just kept me calm. I just breathed, and I served the ball and we won the match.”
The first two sets were all Esperanza, and it was on the brink of a scan, but the panthers settled and used 6-8 opposite Caleb Eschenberg (18 striking attacks) more in the third and fourth sets.
Esperanza takes the first set of Newbury Park, 25-12. @ocvarsity @vcspreps pic.twitter.com/p5mvtgypw3
– David Delgado🇪🇨 (@davidddelgado_oc) May 11, 2025
“He has definitely presented himself in these two games and he was great,” said Griggs. “He worries me definitively for a while, but my two biggest blockers are my exterior (Will Preston and Tyler Lemmon), and I therefore have a lot of confidence in my defense on the left side of the courtyard because of this.”
Newbury Park asked for its first appearance in a CIF-SS final.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
