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Orange Lutheran boys volleyball wins battle with Edison in Division 2 final

May 17, 2026

CERRITOS — The Orange Lutheran boys volleyball team was prepared to have its resilience tested as it pursued a CIF Southern Section championship this season.

The Lancers encountered that exact situation Saturday night, as they faced match point six times in the first set and four times in the fourth set of their CIF-SS Division 2 championship match against Edison at Cerritos College.

The Lancers came from behind to win both of those sets along with the third set for a 31-29, 21-25, 25-20, 28-26 victory to capture their first Southern Section boys volleyball championship since 2018.

The victory also takes away some of the sting from the Lancers’ loss to El Toro in last season’s CIF-SS Division 3 final.

“I think our coaching staff knew what this moment was going to be like and we just wanted to absorb it,” Orange Lutheran coach Henrey Valiente said. “Because we don’t know how long we have on this earth and we just want to appreciate every blessing.”

Josiah Trautman and Utu Samuelu led the Orange Lutheran’s attack with 20 kills each and the Lancers (25-10) had five blocks.

Andrew Boone led the Chargers (21-15) with 16 kills.

“I don’t know how to describe the feeling other than amazing,” said Samuelu, who played on the offensive line on the Lancers’ football team and has committed to play football at SMU. “We are a brotherhood and this bond that we have is so close. None of our seniors wanted it to end.”

The first set featured 21 ties and six lead changes.

After five set points in the first set, Edison got a kill from Joel Akins to take a 29-28 lead with a chance win the set on the sixth set point.

Trautman’s kill tied the score again and the Lancers then took a 30-29 lead on a hitting error by the Chargers.

Edison then committed a net violation to give the Lancers the victory.

In the second set, the Chargers took control late and closed out the set on a 4-0 run to tie the match.

The Lancers took a 22-16 lead in the third set but then committed three consecutive hitting errors, allowing Edison to get within three.

Orange Lutheran regrouped and scored the next three points to take a 2-1 lead.

The fourth set played out much like the first, with the Lancers facing multiple set points.

Consecutive kills from Trautman gave the Lancers a 27-26 lead and a hitting error by Edison ended the set and the match.

Edison boys volleyball coach Trent Jackson, left, and Edison athletic director Rich Boyce display the runner-up plaque after losing to Orange Lutheran in four sets in the CIF-SS Division 2 final Saturday, May 16, 2026, at Cerritos College. (Photo by Lou Ponsi)

“They played great,” Edison coach Trent Jackson said of Orange Lutheran. “They had a couple of guys we had to stop and we couldn’t stop them. But we hit a lot of balls out and served a lot of balls out and in the net. If you are going to win a CIF championship, you’ve got to play well, especially against Orange Lutheran who was here last year.”

Orange Lutheran boys volleyball wins battle with Edison in Division 2 final Orange County Register

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Orange Lutheran boys volleyball wins battle with Edison in Division 2 final

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