Fantastic four

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers THRILL OF VICTORY- Viewpoint's Hunter Carlin is lifted off the ground by his teammate, Jamie Wheeler-Silverman, after clinching the CIF-SS Division V boys' volleyball championship on Saturday. One was surreal, two was so cool and the third was an absolute thrill. But winning four consecutive CIF-Southern Section Division V boys' volleyball championships?

Viewpoint head coach Mike Talamantes was beside himself as he contemplated the scenario following his team's five-game victory (25-22, 25-19, 14-25, 22-25, 15-13) over Salesian Saturday morning in the section title match at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

With the win, Viewpoint became only the third team in CIFSS history to win four straight section championships. (In the proceeding Division IV match that day, Oaks Christian beat Oak Park to become the fourth team all-time to accomplish the feat).

"Four in a row is just unreal," said Talamantes, whose team finished 29-7 on the year, just one victory shy of a fourth consecutive 30-win campaign.

"When we won it the first time, I thought that was the greatest feeling in the world to be able to take a team all the way to the title. But these guys have continued to raise their level of play under pressure, and every year it's been harder because everyone wants to beat us and no one wants to see us continue to repeat."

Salesian certainly didn't want to see the Patriots celebrate again.

The Mustangs were swept by Viewpoint in the 2007 championship match but came up with a much more inspired effort this year.

Despite dropping the first two games, Salesian (24-1) built an 18-10 advantage in Game 3 and coasted to a 25-14 win. They also won a nip-and-tuck Game 4, setting up a dramatic conclusion.

"The first two games we knew (Salesian) was really confident, so we had to come out hard and play good volleyball," said Viewpoint senior opposite Hunter Carlin, who finished with 10 kills and seven blocks.

"After those first two games I think we eased up a bit. They had their backs against the wall and the pressure was on them. They did a very good job, but we just came back and played big at the end."

Behind inspired play from seniors Jamie Wheeler-Silverman (20 digs) and Paulo Vincent- Brown (19 digs, 13 kills, three blocks), Viewpoint sprinted out to a 7-3 advantage midway through Game 5.

Salesian made one final push to tie the game at 9-9, but the comeback would eventually be derailed by a pair of untimely unforced errors.

With Viewpoint leading 13- 12, Salesian hit the first of two consecutive sideout serves, the second of which gave the Patriots their 15 and final point of the decisive Game 5 and set off a wild Patriot celebration at mid-court.

Wheeler-Silverman, who was also a standout on the VHS football team, said Salesian's nearcomeback reminded him a lot of the Patriots' first volleyball title in 2005, when his team rebounded from a two-games-to-none deficit to defeat Pasadena Poly.

"The whole time I kept reminding my team that we couldn't let the same thing that happened to (Pasadena Poly) happen to us," Wheeler-Silverman said.

"We may have lost some intensity, which has been a little bit of a problem for us at times, but we found a way to get it back when we really needed it."

Junior outside hitter Brian Farrell chipped in with 22 kills for Viewpoint, while libero Greg Nostrant added 23 digs. Nick Stabler made play after play en route to logging 51 assists.

As the team's only four-year varsity players, Wheeler- Silverman and Carlin both ended their high school careers with a handful of CIF championship rings and countless memories.

"We've been best friends for a long time," Wheeler-Silverman said. "Volleyball has brought us even closer together."

It was also a poignant victory for Vincent-Brown, who was dealt a bad blow last season when he broke his arm just before the playoffs started.

After working countless hours to rehab the injury- all while making the transition from libero to outside hitter- and while dedicating himself exclusively to volleyball

by joining a club team and dropping soccer from his regimen,

Vincent-Brown had a difficult time fending off the emotions he was feeling afterward.

"This is probably the most meaningful thing that has happened to me in high school," Vincent-Brown said. "I've never had to come back and fight like that, to get a cast off my arm and go to a volleyball camp three days later to train and get better.

"I can't even explain in words how much this means to me, to all of us. It's everything to me. This is what I came to do, and it happened."

End of an era: There won't be a fifth consecutive CIF-SS Division V title for Viewpoint next season.

According to Talamantes, the Patriots will be elevated to Division IV status in 2009.