Led by three seniors, Clovis West captures the Central Section D-I boys volleyball title

Clovis West High boys volleyball coach Greg White describes his team as a “special group of guys that worked hard all season.”

White couldn’t be prouder after Thursday, when his top-seeded Golden Eagles secured the school’s first Central Section Division I title since 2010 with a 25-14, 22-25, 21-25, 25-20, 15-12 victory over Buchanan.

“For our senior class, this championship is the culmination of four years of dedicated hard work and belief in their abilities to see this thing through,” White said.

Seniors Hayden Gonzales, Roth Gulseth and Matthew Hamm have been together since kindergarten at Fort Washington Elementary. They played volleyball there in fifth and sixth grades before moving on to Kastner Intermediate for their seventh- and eighth-grade years.

They were in kindergarten when the Golden Eagles last won a section title. Now, the wait for another one is finally over for Clovis West.

Gonzales led the way against Buchanan with 24 kills. Gulseth added 18 and Hamm delivered 60 assists.

“When they came in as freshmen, we knew we had something special with our younger guys,” White said. “We were able to lay a good foundation and a good blueprint for success in our program. The seniors get a lot of credit for the winning culture in Clovis West boys volleyball. They’ve been more competitive each year since their arrival at Clovis West and have been fantastic and complemented with good sophomores and some solid juniors.

“We had a great makeup on our team, led by our senior class who laid a positive foundation for our program.”

Box Score

Clovis West 3 Buchanan 2

25-14, 22-25, 21-25, 25-20, 15-12. Clovis West, Hayden Gonzales 24 kills; Roth Gulseth 19 kills; Nick Dvorak 14 kills; Ashton Wooldridge 26 digs; Matthew Hamm 60 assists.

Clovis West roster

1. Matthew Hamm

2. Roth Gulseth

3. Hayden Gonzales

4. Ashton Wooldridge

5. Max Bauer

6. Noah Lisle

7. Andrew Falcon

8. Nick Dvorak

9. Josh Lehman

10. Nick Brown

11. Cole Plumlee

12. Jackson Heuer

13. Lucas Russell

14. Cole Myrick

Buchanan roster

1 Tyler Soldani

2 Mark Ensalaco

3 Barrett Siemens

5 John Soldani

7 Luca Paolucci

8 Logan Finley

9 Conner Candiloro

10 Maddox Swift

12 Stone Kerney

13 Andrew Tinseth

16 Alex Fischer

17 Hunter Stokes

22 Dylan Hovet

23 Chase Curry

42 John Jay

Anthony Galaviz

The Fresno Bee

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Anthony Galaviz writes about sports for The Fresno Bee. He covers the Las Vegas Raiders, high schools, boxing, MMA and junior colleges. He’s been with The Bee since 1997 and attended Fresno City College before graduating from Fresno State with a major in journalism and a minor in criminology. Support my work with a digital subscription