Championships in boys volleyball are very little new in the Poway Unified College District.
And Del Norte, Poway and Rancho Bernardo highs have all captured San Diego Section CIF championships in their historical past.
Del Norte has one title back again in 2019 and Rancho Bernardo claimed its only championship in 1992.
Poway carries the banner with 5 championships, starting off in 1993 and as late as 2021.
DEL NORTE
The Nighthawks (14-12, 7-1) are coming off profitable the Palomar League championship with outstanding victories in excess of Carlsbad, Torrey Pines, Poway, Otay Ranch, Mt. Carmel, Rancho Bernardo, Westview and San Marcos past season.
Though five seniors — led by Myles Henderson — graduated final spring, mentor Chris Shaffer have to switch 675 kills from past year’s workforce.
The major returning destroy chief with 145 kills as a junior is senior exterior hitter Shane O’Neal.
Setter Dylan McGee led the league in helps as a junior while senior exterior hitter Gavin Kirby is back from an damage-plagued year.
Shaffer thinks junior Andrew McKinnon could be the best center blocker in the county following amassing 85 kills as a 10th-grader.
Sophomores Jayden Chen (OH-OPP), Will Bartelt (OH-OPP) and Brandon So (L) should step forward alongside with junior Chris Albert, a 6-foot-5 center blocker.
“We’re even now in a pretty very good boys volleyball league,’’ Shaffer stated. “Our objective is to get our league all over again and be in the Open Division simply because that is the place the finest teams are and we want to participate in the greatest groups.’’
This 12 months, Del Norte remained in the Palomar League with Torrey Pines, San Marcos, Sage Creek and Westview.
POWAY
The Titans (20-20, 4-4) shed just three seniors, graduating only 77 kills from past season.
Poway, which performed its ideal volleyball at dwelling final year with a 7-3 report, has a returning setter, a center blocker, an outside hitter and an opposite hitter.
Senior Preston Jackson is back at setter with 6-5 junior MB Danny Sawyer, 6-4 sophomore OH Ryan Johnson and senior reverse Gavin Boyer, who touches 11-toes, 2-inches, handling the hitting responsibilities.
Boyer, no relation to the Boyer household at Poway that had 4 sisters obtain Division I volleyball scholarships, had 52 kills past season with Sawyer future with 48 kills and Johnson with 35 kills.
Junior James Whitehead was a libero previous year but would like to consider outdoors hitting this year.
Mentor Charlie Jackson, a previous Titans participant who has a CIF title as a player and a mentor, is nonetheless looking for a next middle blocker from a team of younger hopefuls.
“We have candidates in the application but we’re not guaranteed who will emerge still,’’ Charlie Jackson claimed. “Our freshman group is remarkable and four of our sophomores are very superior.
“Our offseason has been attempting to exchange Nico Williams, who is now playing at Ohio Point out.
“But figuring out our center blocking is essential simply because our league is a center blocking league.’’
Poway, which opened the 2023 period with four consecutive wins, moved to the Avocado League with La Costa Canyon, Carlsbad, Canyon Crest and El Camino.
Braden Swenningsen, a 6-foot-1 junior on the Rancho Bernardo boys volleyball staff, is averaging 6 kills for each match.
(Courtesy Swenningsen family )
RANCHO BERNARDO
The Broncos (13-18, 2-6) managed to convert actively playing at house into an benefit with a 6-4 report.
Eight returning players obtained considerable actively playing time last season on a crew that misplaced in the Division II semifinals to eventual CIF runner-up El Camino 25-19, 19-25, 25-23, 15-25, 15-9.
Senior Bhargav Nagarajan is back at middle blocker with senior Braden Swenningsen manning the outside the house hitter post.
Swenningsen will head to Cal Lutheran up coming year.
Newcomer Brandon Vuong, a freshman, could swing in between libero and exterior hitter this year.
