“We had them on the ropes,” Laguna Coach Lance Stewart said of a veteran Woodbridge team that has 13 seniors on its roster. “We’re not ready to win matches against really good teams. We’ve got to play from start to finish with the same intensity, whether the score is 3-2 or 24-22. But we’ll get there.”
Woodbridge came into the season ranked fifth in the Division I poll, the same spot Laguna held in the Division II poll.
Lorenzo Torriero, Mike Kahl and Scotty Chapel each finished with nine kills for Laguna and Shawn Merz had eight kills.
Cooper Gwaltney finished with seven kills and Clay Knapp had 29 assists.
Chapel, a middle blocker, was inserted into the lineup for Wednesday’s game and proved to be a boost to the Breakers.
“He had a really nice night,” Stewart said. “For a sophomore, he really stepped it up and was very effective.
“Our middles hit for a real nice percentage in the game.”
Previously, Laguna took on Huntington Beach in nonleague play last Friday (Feb. 29) and Huntington edged the Breakers in a close match, 26-28, 25-19, 25-23, 25-22.
The loss left the Breakers at 0-2, but Laguna still leads the all-time series with the Oilers, 13-12.
Torriero had 20 kills for Laguna. Gwaltney and Merz had 18 and 16 kills, respectively.
Kahl had 15 digs, Gwaltney 11 digs and Knapp 54 assists.
“We dug ourselves into a deep hole in game 3 and 4,” Stewart said. “We fought back and were in a position to win both of those games. We just didn’t make the plays.
“We have five attackers, and only three are giving us consistent numbers. As soon as we start getting consistency across the board from all five, which we will, we will be a tough team to handle. Our blocking also needs a lot of work. That will come around as we play more matches.”
