Connor Koski lifts El Camino Real to City Section | College News
It was becoming Connor Koski clinched El Camino Real’s championship with a block on match level in Saturday night time’s City Section Open Division boys volleyball closing at Birmingham High in Lake Balboa.
“I timed my jump and I thought it was going out but I guess it hit [an opposing player’s] foot on the way down,” mentioned an exuberant Koski, who moved from center blocker to reverse hitter before the playoffs. “I asked [coach Alyssa Lee] to switch me and it worked.”
El Camino Real’s triumph culminated in a 25-21, 25-20, 20-25, 25-21 victory over top-seeded Venice, but the title was 4 years in the making. Eleven of the Royals’ 12 gamers are seniors.
“We’re all friends, we all trust each other, and it’s a dream come true to win a championship in one of our last matches together,” mentioned Tyler Lee, who paced the squad with 14 kills. “We’ve lost our share of five setters, so we wanted to end this thing in four.”
Connor Koski hammers a kill over Venice’s Sam Engelen in the City Section Open Division boys’ volleyball closing at Birmingham High on Saturday.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Koski, El Camino Real’s lone junior, had eight kills, including one to finish the second set. Dev Vunnam and Christian Romero also each had eight kills, Jackson Riepe had seven and Nicolas Gerola served 4 aces, the first of which gave El Camino Real the first set.
The third-seeded Royals (27-13) obtained scorching at the proper time and avenged a pair of West Valley League losses to Chatsworth by ending the Chancellors’ bid for a third straight Open title with a surprising 25-23, 25-16, 25-22 semifinal upset Tuesday.
“I’ve known this group since their freshman year and I’ve push them hard in practice to prepare them for those situations,” mentioned Lee, who understands the depth of every match in the West Valley League, having performed libero for Granada Hills before graduating in 2009. “The physical talent is there but the mental training is so important. You have to stay focused and can’t let up.”
Lee coached the boys to the Division I title in 2016 (the Open Division debuted in 2018) and guided the women to the Open championship in 2023. She also has coached the women to two seaside volleyball crowns.
El Camino Real’s (left to proper) Christian Romero, Connor Koski and Jackson Riepe rejoice a match level during the City Section Open Division championship match against Venice on May 17, 2025.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
“The first two times we played Chatsworth I just let the boys play but I game-planned a lot for the semifinals,” Lee mentioned. “We needed a big guy on the right like Connor to block and get some kills.”
Trailing by 4 factors early in the third set and in hazard of being swept, the Gondoliers (36-6) used an 8-0 run to surge into the lead and completed it on Nathan Hoggatt’s emphatic kill. Noah Smith had 10 kills for Venice, final 12 months’s Division I champion.
Something had to give as Venice entered on an 11-match successful streak relationship back to April 21 (dropping only one set in the method) while El Camino Real had gained 5 consecutive matches and 15 straight units since April 9.
In Saturday’s Division II closing, hitter Izac Garcia helped Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences take home its first City title after a 20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-15 triumph over Mendez, which was searching for its first crown since back-to-back Division III championships in 2021-22.
Valley Academy of Arts and Sciences gamers rejoice after defeating Mendez to win the City Section Division I boys’ volleyball championship Saturday.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Hamilton, final 12 months’s Division V champion, moved up to Division IV and beat Port of LA for the championship. In Division V, Wilson downed Harbor Teacher for its first-ever title.
On the identical ground Friday, top-seeded Taft captured its seventh part crown, sixth in Division I and first since 2015 with its 25-10, 25-20, 25-17 sweep of No. 2 Carson. Arman Mercado, who took over the women’ program in 2000 and the boys two years later, coached the women to their first Open Division title in the autumn and has guided the Toreadors to 22 finals appearances.
East Valley swept Maywood CES for the Division III title — the Falcons’ first in boys volleyball.
Also on Friday, Mira Costa outlasted Huntington Beach in 5 units in a South Bay showdown for the Southern Section Division 1 championship at Cerritos College. The top-seeded Mustangs prevailed, 25-19, 22-25, 25-19, 29-31, 15-11, behind 25 kills from Grayson Bradford — the final from the proper facet to finish the match.
Mateo Fuerbringer added 17 kills for Mira Costa, which fell in three units to Loyola in the finals final spring. Logan Hutnick led the charge for the second-seeded Oilers, who staved off 4 championship factors in a wild fourth set. It was the Mustangs’ ninth part title and first since 2021.
Mater Dei rallied to beat Peninsula 20-25, 25-17, 25-13, 25-19 in Division 2.
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