WGHS Boys Volleyball Wins CCS Title

In a surprising win for the underdog, the Willow Glen High School Boys Volleyball team won the Central Coast Section championship Tuesday night, defeating the Valley Christian Warriors 25-12, 22-25, 34-32, 18-25, 15-13.

Wednesday’s SJ Mercury News has details, and pictures:

The Rams (27-12) are coached by Jef Wind, who has been leading the Rams for 11 years with a laidback persona that belies his competitive spirit.

The win was extra special for Willow Glen because the Warriors had knocked them out of the first round of the playoffs last season and beat them this year on Willow Glen’s home court.

In Game 3, the Rams survived four Valley Christian game points and pulled off the win when junior setter Greg Belgum’s (#7) serve ticked the top of the net and fell in for an ace to give the Rams a 34-32 win.

Willow Glen senior Marcus Mancuso (#9) was a dominant force, playing much bigger than his 6-foot frame. He led the Rams with 24 kills and had nine digs. In Game 3, he came up with the biggest sequence of the match, making a fantastic dig on a Kyle Gerrans serve and coming back to make a kill from the back row seconds later.

“We really wanted to come out and show we could beat a high-caliber team tonight,” Mancuso said. “When a game gets that intense, the outcome can change depending on a bad bounce here or there. But I thought we wanted it a bit more tonight.” …

Middle blocker Jamie Diaz had 16 kills for Willow Glen.

“This was a huge win for us, and an amazing night,” Wind said. “This is bizarre, but I actually thought if we got it to a Game 5 we would win, because these kids have been coming through in the clutch in high-intensity matches all year. I didn’t have to do any coaching at that point — the boys just took over.”

Congratulations from WGx!