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Orange Lutheran boys volleyball goes from last place to CIF-SS semifinals

May 8, 2025

MISSION VIEJO – Orange Lutheran’s boys volleyball team finished last in the Trinity League with a 1-9 league record.

The Lancers got into the CIF Southern Section Division 3 playoffs as an at-large team. In the first round they defeated San Joaquin League champion Capistrano Valley Christian before beating Channel League champion San Marcos in the second round.

Orange Lutheran on Wednesday beat another league champion, Mission Viejo, 25-21, 27-25, 25-23-0, in the quarterfinals.

The Lancers (24-13 overall) will play Warren (25-6) of Downey in the semifinals Saturday at 6 p.m. The Orange Lutheran-Warren winner advances to the Division 3 championship game on May 16 or 17 at a site to be determined.

Mission Viejo finished the season 20-6. The Diablos shared the Sea View League championship with San Juan Hills.

Trinity League coaches of any of sport often say their league gets their teams ready for playoff competition.

Orange Lutheran coach Henry Valiente said that certainly applies to his team’s success in these playoffs.

“Playing against all of the great teams in our league prepares us for moments like this,” Valiente said. “We went five sets with a lot of teams in our league and that taught us lessons. As we say, you win or you learn.”

The first set was tied 15-15 when Orange Lutheran made its move, outscoring the Diablos 10-6 the rest of the way for the 25-21 win.

Mission Viejo had a terrific front line group, led by sophomore Juan Escobar and senior Dillon Scolaro, both 6-foot-4, that helped keep the Diablos in the battle all night.

The Diablos had a 17-9 lead in the second set when Orange Lutheran made another surge. With senior outside hitter Logan Busch making some of his 13 kills and with fine setting and scoring by senior setter David Zazueta, the Lancers rallied.

They caught up with Mission Viejo at 24-24, a kill by senior outside hitter Connor Engelbrecht gave the Lancers their first lead of the second set at 26-25 and they won it 27-25.

Orange Lutheran broke to an early lead in the third set but Mission Viejo did not fold, trading points with the Lancers for much of the rest of the set until Orange Lutheran junior Josiah Trautman slammed in the set winner for a 25-23 victory to take the match.

Engelbrecht, who finished with a team-high 17 kills, agreed with his coach that the Trinity League made the Lancers playoff-ready.

“It was a tough season in terms of wins and losses,” Engelbrecht said. “But all of our league games were super close so we were ready for these close games. The league prepared us for a higher level of play and for whoever’s coming at us.”

Orange County Register

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Orange Lutheran boys volleyball goes from last place to CIF-SS semifinals

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