Boys’ volleyball: Loyola, La Salle advance to semifinals

Loyola and La Salle HIgh Schools have advanced to the May 16 semifinals of the CIF-Southern Section boys’ volleyball playoffs after May 12 quarterfinal victories.

Loyola came back from a first-set loss to defeat Tesoro 22-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-14 in Division 1. The Cubs (24-2) next take on Corona Del Mar (30-4) in the semis, seeking revenge for a late-regular season straight-set loss (25-19, 25-21, 25-17) to the Sea Kings of Newport Beach, who Maxpreps ranks third in the U.S. and second in the state, one slot ahead of Loyola.

The winner advances to the D-1 finals against the Newport Harbor-South Torrance victor. Unbeaten Newport Harbor (30-0), the nation’s top-ranked team, dropped the first set of its quarterfinal match to Alemany, 25-20, before rallying to win the last three, 25-22, 25-26, 25-9. 

In Division 4, La Salle (23-6) rolled to a 25-16, 25-16, 25-21 quarterfinal win over Providence/Burbank (14-3), to set up a semifinal match against the winner of the May 14 match between Rancho Alamitos and San Gabriel Academy.

In Division 3, Damien (28-9) saw its season end with a straight-set loss toTustin (27-2). 

Championship matches are May 19. The SoCal Regionals are May 22, 24 and 26.