Foothill boys volleyball beats Servite in quarterfinals with powerful effort

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SANTA ANA – Playoff time is the best time for a team to play its best.

That looks to be where Foothill's boys volleyball team is these days.

Foothill played with high levels of confidence and physicality Wednesday as it defeated Servite in four sets, 25-23, 17-25, 25-21, 25-14, in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 quarterfinals at Foothill High.

Foothill (19-13) will play at Windward (32-5) in the semifinals Saturday at 6 p.m.

Servite finished the season 19-19.

Senior outside hitter Max Chang led Foothill with 13 kills. Senior opposite hitter JJ Barraza had 10 kills, and seniors Lucas Cuellar, Ethan Fernandez and Jonah Van Iersel had eight kills each.

Knights senior setter Eddie Castellanos distributed 28 assists.

"This is one of our best days in terms of how we played in the three sets we won, other than that short bad stretch in the second set," said Foothill coach Chris Lee.

Chang said the Knights were physically and emotionally ready for the match.

"We had an extreme amount of good energy," Chang said. "We were on it every single time."

Foothill, which won its only CIF-SS boys volleyball championship in 1996, trailed for much of the first half of the first set before finishing strong in a 25-23 win.

Servite took a big early lead in the second set and continued to dominate on its way to a 25-17 victory.

Van Iersel, who did not play in Foothill's win over Mission Viejo in the second round because of a calf strain, had three crucial kills for the Knights on the way to a 25-21 win in the third set.

Foothill went on a series of runs in the fourth set to win it, 25-14, and finish its match victory.

Chang said it was very much a team win.

"I'm very fortunate to be playing with so many fantastic players," Chang said. "I really appreciate them doing all the hard work to pass the ball to me and the guys in the middle, the outside and the opposite. All we have to do is just put the ball in."

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This story was originally published May 6, 2026 at 10:51 PM.