Livingston High volleyball’s historic run falls short in state championship
It wasn’t the dream ending the Livingston High boys volleyball team had hoped. The Wolves ultimately didn’t get to hoist the state championship trophy on Saturday after falling to Mater Dei Catholic 3-1 in the CIF State Division IV championship match at Fresno City College.
The Crusaders held off the Wolves 25-18, 25-19, 20-25, 25-16 to set off their own celebration on their side of the net.
That didn’t stop the hundreds of fans dressed in purple, who made the 90-minute drive south on Highway 99, from letting out a large roar when Livingston coach Mike Alvernaz held up the runner-up trophy.
The Livingston community showed their appreciation for the Wolves’ historic run that included the school’s first-ever Northern California championship and first appearance in a state championship game.
To go this far and make school history, I hope they realize what they accomplished this year,” said Alvernaz, whose team finished the season with a 37-7 record. “This is such a special group. It’s a young team too. I’m proud of all of them.”
The Wolves couldn’t overcome a slow start as it appeared to take them almost two games to settle in and battle through the nerves of playing with a state championship on the line.
Their passing wasn’t crisp, their were communication issues between players and the Wolves struggled to keep momentum on their side of the net as the Crusaders (33-10) sprinted out to a 2-0 lead.
‘It was tough,” said Livingston junior Bradley Kaji, who tied for the team lead with 11 kills. “It took us a while to get level-headed and play our game. It took a bit of screaming and talking to work things out. Toward the end we started doing better.”
“They took care of the ball those first two sets and we didn’t,” Alvernaz said. “We weren’t playing our normal game.”
The Wolves turned the table in the third game as they jumped out to a 16-11 lead and were able to capture some momentum and get back into the match by forcing a fourth game.
Livingston started out the fourth game strong too, opening up a 15-12 lead. However, the Crusaders caught fire, closing out the title match with a 13-1 run.
Mater Dei Catholic setter put on a show as he set up his arsenal of hitters with 33 assists. Fellow senior Oskar Manguy-Meza led the Crusaders attack with 13 kills.
Livingston junior Navjot Sekhon tied Kaji with 11 kills and Shabadjot Kaloya finished with 15 assists and Gurmukh Gill added 14 assists.
“I’ve had a blast and I’m so glad I got to do it with this team,” Kaji said. “There’s no other group of guys I’d want to play with than this group.”
Sekhon says this special run put Livingston on the map and with many players coming back next year the Wolves could get another shot at a state title.
“For us to come from a small town in the middle of nowhere, to play for a state championship is crazy,” Sekhon said. “At the beginning of the season nobody thought Livingston would be good in volleyball. Nobody thought we’d be here. I expect us to come back even stronger next year.”
