Buried Treasure

After a bit of a slow start Tuesday at home, the Fountain Valley boys volleyball team began firing on all cylinders and won its opening match of the season easily over Tesoro in straight sets, 25-20, 25-11, 25-18.

"We started of a little bit slowly in that first game," Barons coach Todd Hanson said. "Our serving was a little off, very shaky. But we rebounded and we finished strong, and we corrected a lot of those mistakes in the second game. And after going up 2-0, I got an opportunity to put all my subs in and clear the bench. When we get into league, being in one of the toughest leagues you can get, I won't have that opportunity. So it's always good to get everyone a chance to play early on."

The Barons were led throughout the match by their core of seniors Tom Peters, Trent Kersten, Johny Quan and Kyle Bertran, who ran off a string of jump-serve aces during the easy win in the second set. In the third, Fountain Valley showed its depth, getting a bit of instant offense from senior Bret Woodley, who drew plenty of oohs and ahhs from a nice crowd with some strong hitting on the outside.

"If it wasn't for the fact that he plays the same position as (Kersten), then they'd both be on the court," Hanson said of Woodley. "I'm trying to find ways to get both of them on the court, and in that third game, I threw in some extra subs, but that's a rotation I might use where I can use both of those guys because he's a very powerful hitter."

As the Barons look ahead to Sunset League play at the end of the month, Hanson fully expects his team to be in the mix.

"I'm excited," he said. "I think we'll be battling for a league title. I think it's going to be between us, Huntington and Newport, and hopefully we'll be able to come out victorious."