By Ted Apodaca

Fountain Valley used a 12-1 run to take control of the fourth set and used the momentum to rally for a 20-25, 25-22, 21-25, 25-16, 15-8 victory over Los Alamitos in a boys volleyball match on Monday at Los Alamitos High.

The Griffins held a 2-1 set lead and held a 10-5 lead in the fourth set, when things began to unravel for Los Al. Fountain Valley cut the lead to 11-7 and then went on a 12-1 run to take control of the set. Bennett Heydorn had a kill off a block and then followed that with a tap into open space to tie the set at 12-12.

Los Alamitos didn’t help its own cause as the Griffins had hits go wide, or into the net and misplayed a pass to give the Barons some points. When William Watkins came up with a solo block for a point, the Barons led 16-12. Thomas Ho followed that with an ace serve and after a Griffin hit wide, Ho rolled another serve over the net for a second ace and the Barons were in control 19-12.

Baron Head Coach Rebecca Cheltenham said that her team was able to execute consistently with their serve and that found a weakness in the Griffins’ serve receive game that they were able to exploit.

“We executed in that and it threw them out of system and that’s, I think, a big part of why they couldn’t regroup,” Barons Head Coach Rebecca Cheltenham said.

As the fifth set opened, the match went back and forth until the Barons held a 7-6 lead. But the Barons would again gain steam as they pulled away for a 13-7 lead when Ho hit a kill down the line. A net violation on Los Al would put the Barons at match point and they closed it out with a kill after a long rally.

The Griffins started the match strong, winning a close first set with some big plays down the stretch. A block for a point gave them a 22-19 lead and after a Baron point, Enzo Kerley had a kill for a point to push the lead to 23-20. After a Baron shot went long, Kerley ended the set with another kill.

The Griffin defense was solid early, led by Cole Wachter and Nate Baddeley each with key blocks for points in the first set. The second set was close down the stretch, but the Barons held as a long serve by the Griffins closed out the set for the Barons.

In the third set, the Griffins held the lead for most of the set, though it was tight all the way. Fountain Valley had a 4-0 run that tied the set at 19-19. Wachter had a kill that gave the Griffins a 20-19 lead and a Baron hit wide extended it to 21-19. After a Baron kill, the Griffins went on a 3-0 run, that included a tap block on a ball over the net by Kerley and a kill off a block by Jette Estes. After a Griffin long serve, Kerley ended the set with a kill down the sideline to give Los Al a 2-1 set lead.

The Griffins fell to 11-8 and are 1-1 in the Sunset Surf League. The Barons improved to 13-1 and a 1-0 in the Sunset Wave League with new head coach Rebecca Cheltenham. Fountain Valley was 8-12 last year and 1-5 in the Wave League.