Royal Trips Loyola in Battle of Unbeaten Volleyball Teams

It was the clash of the volleyball titans Wednesday night at Royal High, and after 2 1/2 hours the Highlanders were left standing with a 15-13, 8-15, 15-5, 15-8 nonleague victory over Loyola.

Royal, ranked No. 1 in the Southern Section 3-A Division, benefited from a pair of school-record performances and a tremendous defensive effort to outlast a Cub team that came into the match undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the 4-A.

After losing its first game of the season to even the match, 1-1, Royal (16-0) pumped up its intensity in the third and fourth games behind the play of setter Travis Ferguson, outside hitter Brett Osterhoudt and middle blocker Kerry White.

Ferguson smashed the school record for assists in a match with 90 and Osterhoudt broke another Royal mark with 22 digs. White dominated the middle with 16 kills and 10 blocks.

“We picked it up a notch emotionally (in the third game) and when you pick it up emotionally, that’s where it shows, in defense,” said Ferguson, who had 21 digs. “(Loyola) made a couple of mistakes and we really fed off it.”

Led by Ricky Hillman and Mark Preletz, each of whom finished with 27 kills, Loyola (14-1) raced to a 9-4 lead in the first game.

But the Highlanders whittled away at the Cubs’ advantage and tied it, 10-10, on a five-point service run by Osterhoudt. Osterhoudt also helped spark Royal from the front row, with 15 of his match-high 33 kills coming in the first game.

The game remained tight until Royal finished it off on a quick set kill and a block by Joe Penrod.

After spotting Royal a 3-0 lead in game two, Loyola closed down the Highlander attack and stormed back to even the match, Preletz and Hillman again leading the way. “I’m glad we lost game two, because it gave me a chance to see how we would respond,” Royal Coach Bob Ferguson said.

The Highlanders responded with a formidable defense, keyed by its blocking. “(Assistant coach) Chris Bruckner was amazing,” Coach Ferguson said. “He was charting everything Loyola did, and by the third game he was calling out every hit. We were committing on every block. We kept the pressure on long enough to make the difference.”

Several other Highlanders also played key roles. Steve Hodge had 23 kills, Josh Penrod contributed 22 kills and six blocks and Steve Hambly had 15 kills and 13 digs.