Bulldogs place third in La Jolla Beach City Invitational

Ramona High School’s boys volleyball team started its regular season at home versus Poway, losing in three games: 25-27, 23-25, and 21-25.

“We played pretty well for our first time out,” said head coach Jeff Klauda. “Poway just played solid, error free ball.”

Davis Windes led the team in kills with 14. Isaiah Spieker had 26 assists and Trevor Johnson had 5 blocks.

Klauda had praise for some newcomers to the team. “A lot of guys had debuts in this game,” he said. “Calvin Harris has played volleyball for all of about 18 days. He started in games 1 and 2 and played pretty well. He recorded his first block and kill.

“Dylan Shields had his varsity debut and played well. He had competed just one year of JV as a freshman and decided to return to the sport this year as a senior.”

Matt Gregg and Sean Stemm debuted as well.

Klauda’s program is growing, and he is fielding a novice team for the first time in the school’s history.

The Bulldogs competed in The La Jolla Beach City Invitational and took third place in the Silver Division. The annual tournament has a reputation for providing intense competition and is considered the most prestigious tournament in San Diego for boys volleyball.

Many teams travel from out of town for the event. This year saw representatives from Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii as well as throughout California.

Pool play began at Scripps High School where the Bulldogs were the No. 2 seed in their pool.

The team notched its first win against the El Camino squad: 25-16, 25-22. Sophomore outside hitter Armando Abarca led the Bulldogs in kills with seven and a .455 hitting percentage.

Next up was the Clovis North team from the Fresno area who beat the Bulldogs: 13-25, 21-25. The tougher loss in the match was losing Abarca to an injury, said Klauda, adding he is expected to be out at least two weeks.

Klauda had to make do with a makeshift lineup for the crossover match versus Cathedral from the Southern Section bracket. The coach moved Shields to outside hitter and Stemm to opposite where neither had much experience, but both played well, said Klauda.

The Bulldogs lost: 21-25, 15-25. This put the Bulldogs in the Silver Division for the remaining matches of the tournament.

The team lost its first seeding game to Arbor View from Las Vegas 20-25, 20-25, and then beat Del Norte 25-20, 26-24 in the quarterfinals.

The semifinals matched the Bulldogs with Trabuco Hills of the Southern Section. The Ramona team lost 17-25, 16-25. Trabuco Hills would go on to win the bracket.

Klauda said he was pleased with what his team accomplished.

“The boys competed really well all day and made a lot of progress with their understanding of the game and skills,” he said. “I’m very, very proud of their effort.”

The team’s next games will be away at Mt. Carmel and Canyon Crest Academy.