PREP ROUNDUP : Laguna Beach Sweeps No. 2 Huntington Beach

Laguna Beach came back from a disappointing loss last week to San Clemente, to sweep Huntington Beach, 15-8, 15-13, 15-3, in a nonleague boys’ volleyball match Monday at Laguna Beach High School.

At stake was a potential higher seeding in the Southern Section playoffs, scheduled to start May 13, and the fourth-ranked Artists (12-1) put in their bid with a dominant performance.

Junior outside hitter Dan Styles led Laguna Beach with 20 kills and 6-foot-9 middle blocker Szilard Kovacs solidified the defense with five blocks.

“We got a tremendous team effort from everyone tonight,” Artist Coach Michael Soylular said. “Our serving was good and we just played like a team.”

The second-ranked Oilers (13-2) rallied only once, when they went on an 8-1 run in the second game to catch Laguna Beach, 12-12. However, the Artists regrouped and won the game when Nick Ziegler’s spike found the net.

Laguna Beach pounded away at the Oilers in the third game and led, 10-3, when Huntington Beach Coach Rocky Ciarelli was ejected after disputing a call.

“I hate to see Rocky get ejected in such a good match,” Soylular said. “He’s a good friend of mine.”