Orange Lutheran boys volleyball sweeps Fountain Valley to grab spot in semifinals

ORANGE — The Orange Lutheran boys volleyball team played like a team that has unfinished business.

The Lancers made quick work of Fountain Valley with a sweep, 25-20, 25-13, 25-16, in the CIF-SS Division 2 quarterfinals Tuesday night at Orange Lutheran High.

Orange Lutheran (23-10) will host St. Margaret's in the semifinals Saturday. A spot in the CIF-SS championship game will be on the line.

Last season, the Lancers lost to Tesoro in the Division 3 final, and this season they are striving for a much different outcome.

"Last year we made it all the way to the finals but we lost." Orange Lutheran coach Henry Valiente said. "And then a couple years ago (in 2023), I took the girls program to the finals and lost as well. So, you know, I’m hoping to get there and hopefully the third time’s a charm."

Fountain Valley played a tough first set thanks to the play of Billy Watkins, Peter Pham and Trevin Le.

The Barons took an 18-17 lead in the opening set before the Lancers responded with a strong run to end the set, capped by Josiah Trautman's set-clinching kill.

Senior outside hitter Sam Utu finished with a team-high 14 kills, Trautman added 11 kills and Dane Geisen chipped in eight kills.

Valiente called the trio of libero John Garabedian and setters Max Lopez and Calvin Cygan the backbone of the team.

"It all starts with them,” Valiente said. “I mean, you got our big stud in our libero (Garabedian), who passes every ball, never complains, hustles for every ball. He’s a great defender, puts his body on the line every single time.

"And of course, it’s always hard being that setter/quarterback for the team, and I got two amazing setters in Max and Calvin. They get yelled at a lot by me because I hold setters to a high standard because they are the extensions of the coaches, but it’s because of them that our offense flows so well."

Lopez and Cygan set up the hitters to capitalize on key sequences throughout the match.

"They’re always huge,” Valiente said. “I mean, we have two stud seniors (Utu and Trautman) that carry the load. Not only offensively, but they really put their heart and soul into the team. They’re great team captains and they lead by example."

Valiente talked about what it would mean to not only reach the final, but win it this time.

"Reaching to the final would be a great accomplishment for our team, but just winning for this senior class would mean everything because it really feels like a family," he said. "They love each other. They fight with each other, just like how a family does. But at the end of the day, they have each other’s back."

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