Vikings Rally Past Bulldogs in Volleyball Semifinals

It took a while for the La Jolla High boys volleyball team to hit its stride in Tuesday night's San Diego Section Division III semifinal at Ramona, but when it did, the host Bulldogs must have had a feeling of deja vu.

"La Jolla has been our nemesis," said Ramona coach Jeff Klauda after the Vikings stormed back for a 22-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-12, 15-12 victory. "Four of the last five years, that's who we've lost to in the playoffs."

La Jolla advances to Saturday's final for some more deja vu. The Vikings will meet Cathedral Catholic for the third straight year. La Jolla won in 2009 (after beating Ramona in the title match in '08), with Cathedral taking the championship last year. The Dons advanced to the final with a 25-21, 25-13, 25-18 win over Canyon Crest.

Ramona came on strong to win the first two sets, and after falling behind 15-21 in the third, the Bulldogs rallied to pull even at 22-all and 23-all. But when La Jolla scored the two points it needed to avoid elimination, it seemed to spark the Vikings, who expanded a 7-5 lead to 12-5, then 15-7 and finally 20-9 on their way to an easy fourth-set win.

La Jolla grabbed a 2-0 lead in the fifth set and Ramona could never pull even, trailing by as many as six at 11-5 before getting as close as two points on three occasions before the 15-12 loss.

"That was scary," said Vikings coach Dave Jones, whose team played a tough schedule (including a 3-1 oss to Ramona on March 29) and is now 17-16. "It's tough to come back and win three in a row like we did. You've got to give the kids credit. It's been a season of growth.

"There was some nervousness in the first two games, and even if we hadn't held on in the third game, I would have been proud of the way this team has come together. They're really peaking at the right time."

Clay Jones anchored the front line for the Vikings with 26 kills, Nick Sebald added 18 and Ryan Walsh chipped in 15 and had four service aces.

Klauda agreed that La Jolla played near-perfect volleyball as the match progressed.

"I know my guys are upset and frustrated about how they lost, but we still had a successful year," said Klauda, whose team finished 17-15.

"La Jolla played an amazing match. They made no mistakes once they started to turn it around. I knew we were in trouble when we stopped talking to each other on the floor, when we stopped communicating. But they gave me everything they had, and that's all I can ask."

Billy White led the Bulldog attack with 16 kills, Luis Nunez had 12 and Kenny Lawler added 10.