Sunny Hills boys volleyball defeats Royal to win second CIF-SS title

NORWALK — The Sunny Hills boys volleyball team is a CIF Southern Section champion again.

The Lancers dropped the first set but rallied to beat Royal of Simi Valley in four, 24-26, 25-22, 27-25, 25-23, to win the Division 4 title — their second section title in program history — on Friday night at Cerritos College.

Sunny Hills coach Albert Soliguen, who guided the Lancers to their first title in 2022, reflected on the moment.

“It means so much,” he said. “I mean, I asked myself the first time we won the championship. ‘I’m like, man, this feels good. When am I gonna come back again?’ And four years later, we’re here now with the second championship, and it’s still sinking in.”

The Lancers were up 23-19 in the first set but the Highlanders (15-12) finished with a 7-1 run to win the opening set.

Sunny Hills (23-14), which qualified for the CIF State playoffs by winning, responded to the early adversity in a positive manner.

“We’ve been in pressure situations like this all season,” Soliguen said. “and the most important thing is mentality, staying positive, staying connected with each other, not closing each other out.”

The Sunny Hills attack was led by outside hitter Owen Filadelfia, who had a team-high 18 kills, and outside hitter Christian Lee, who added 17 kills.

Lee credited the crowd for their impact on the match.

“I think what really helped was the energy on and off court and the audience on the side,” Lee said. “That really fueled us. And then also just communication and just getting through each rotation, point by point, and getting one of those long runs.”

Sunny Hills’ Alex Kang chipped in with eight kills, including set point in the second set, and middle blocker Lyle Pickavance also had some big swings in crucial moments.

“Tonight, he brought blocks and he transitioned well,” Soliguen said of Pickavance. “He made his presence felt in the middle, and that was crucial in our game plan to open up the pins for 1V1 situations.”

Filadelfia’s older brother Logan, was a setter on the Lancers’ 2022 squad.

“It means the absolute world to me,” Filadelfia said. “I mean, my brother, he’s always been there supporting me. You know, I was there when he won, he was here (tonight) when I won. You know, he’s my brother and I love him.”

Royal outside hitter Grant Herzer had a match-high 19 kills, while teammate Donnie Fleming finished with 18 kills.

During the postgame celebration, Soliguen was congratulated by members of the 2022 team.

“It’s family,” he said. “That’s all I can say. When I see these guys, and for them to come out and support the program when half of them don’t even know who the guys are, but they all have one thing in common. They all came from Sunny Hills High School and they’re all Lancers. So it’s a special group and I’m so happy for the alumni to come in and witness history with this team.”