Oaks Christian overwhelms Oak Park to win second straight title

Photos by JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers GUESS WHO?-Oak Christian players and their coach, George Hees, far right, celebrate following the team's 3-0 victory over rival Oak Park in the CIF-SS Division IV championship match. Any changing of the guard in Division IV boys' volleyball will have to wait another year as top-seeded Oaks Christian (25-4) defeated rival Oak Park (33-8) Saturday in three consecutive games to win its program's second-consecutive CIF title.

The clash of two local programs well-known for their athletic rivalry drew a large contingency of fans to nearby Westlake High School, many coming to see what they thought would be a tightly-contested battle between two teams that traded matches during the regular season. Instead, Oak Park miscues and Oaks Christian efficiency put a quick end to what otherwise had been a historically successful volleyball season for the Eagles.

The final scores read 25-18, 25-19, 25-20 in favor of Oaks Christian, which came back from an early deficit in the third game to put away Oak Park, a team playing in its first-ever championship match.

CHAMPIONSHIP FORM-Left, Oaks Christian sophomore Blake Fol leaps into the arms of senior Brendan Skinner after the final point of the match. Starting setter Ryan Schiedermayer looks on. Right, Dominic Denham slams home a kill past the arms of Oak Park's Justin Burridge and Killian Doheney. "This was a new experience for my boys, and I think having to adjust to the crowd and to the surroundings might have affected them," said OPHS head coach Meredith Mangum.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, Oaks Christian did have the experience-and they played accordingly. Establishing the middle early with blockers Dominic Denham and Austin Badgett, Oaks Christian opened up the lanes for their big hitters, seniors Alex Walker and Brendan Skinner, who were all too willing to take advantage.

Skinner, who will play at USC next year, finished his final match as a Lion with 16 kills. Walker added seven kills and five aces. Denham had nine kills and six blocks.

"Our game plan was to get everyone involved," said Oaks Christian head coach George Hees. "Our outside hitters are a lot more reliable when they don't have two blockers up every time. Getting our middle blockers involved early really opened things up."

While Oak Park continued to look to its two big guns, seniors Justin Burridge and Jason Fahn, for points, Oaks Christian was able to spread the floor and find several contributors.

In all, seven different Lions recorded kills in the match, including Badgett, who finished with six kills and three blocks.

"I think we had a much more balanced attack then when we played them in the regular season. All of our players were involved," Hees said. "Alex Walker and Brendan Skinner are great players, but we didn't have to rely on them. We kept the other team guessing."

Walker, who finishes his career at OCHS with four league titles and two CIF rings, said it was the team's selflessness that carried it to two straight memorable seasons.

"Everyone on this team plays for everyone else," said Walker, who is heading to the University of Pacific next year. "There is no one individual with us. It's like six guys all play as one."

Despite their defeat, Burridge and Fahn showed in flashes why they helped the Oak Park boys' volleyball program go from worst to nearly-first in its first four years of existence.

Burridge, who constantly tried to fire up his teammates with his high-octane play, finished with a match-high 17 kills. But both he and Fahn, who had eight kills, seemed to let their adrenaline get the best of them at times, hitting balls long that they consistently put away in the regular season.

Though clearly disappointed after the defeat, Mangum pledged that Oak Park, which returns three players who started in the championship match, will return.

"Oh yeah, we'll be back," Mangum said. "So this rivalry will continue."

Current sophomores Steven Thompson, Adam Quinn and Brendan Keane will all be back next season in an Eagle uniform, including junior Killian Doheney, who also saw significant minutes in the championship match. Mangum pointed to the fact

that Oak Park has improved its final standing in the season each of the last four years.

"First year we didn't make the playoffs. Second year we went to the second round and the third year

we went to (the quarterfinals)," Mangum said. "Now we're in the finals. Next year our goal is to win. It's one small step at a time, but we're getting there. I couldn't be prouder of our team."