Sage Creek boys volleyball coach David Savage didn’t like how his offense looked in a set one loss to the nation’s No. 5-ranked team in Saturday’s Beach Cities Invitational.
So he switched to a 5-1 behind Charlie Hartmann against Torrey Pines, and the result was something that could change his team’s fortunes in 2024.
The Bobcats fought back to win the next two sets and the match and carried that momentum to a second-place finish in the 22nd annual event hosted by La Jolla High School.
“Sometimes things work out better than expected, and this is one of those spots,” said Savage, whose squad lost to a physical Long Beach Wilson team, 25-18, 25-17, in the championship. “I’m just really proud of the way the guys came together, especially the senior core. I just tried to step out of the way and let them lead the team and do their thing.”
The lineup switch after the 25-17 loss to the Falcons meant Hartmann set all the way around while Savage moved around pieces of his puzzle. The next two sets went the Bobcats’ way, 25-23, 15-9.
“Every set is a new game,” said senior outside hitter Justin Baldner, who totaled 40 kills in four matches Saturday. “We dropped the first set by a good amount of points, but we came back in the second set because we believed in ourselves. We ended up winning by playing disciplined and believing we could do it.”
Sage Creek (28-8) didn’t rest on its huge win over Torrey Pines, which is MaxPreps.com’s No. 5 and USA Today/AVCA’s No. 7-ranked team.
The Bobcats carried that momentum the rest of the day behind a roster where it’s not a stretch to say nearly every player can play nearly every position.
Baldner and junior Charlie Salmon (27 kills Saturday) have heavy arms on the outside while senior Caiden Rex (team-high 10 kills vs. Torrey Pines) can match their power on the right side. Senior libero Ethan Lam had 53 digs on the day.
“We have 18 guys on our team,” Savage said. “So having a big team and playing as many games as we have allows people to sub in and play multiple positions. We have outsides who are playing middle. We have opposites who are playing middle. Everyone’s floating around. It’s nice to have a bunch of really capable guys. It’s a real great luxury.”
Sage Creek won a dramatic semifinal match against Westview (17-6), winning in straight sets, 25-22, 25-18.
A back-and-forth first set saw neither team lead by more than three points until the Bobcats went up 18-14. The Wolverines fought back to get to 24-22 but missed a serve on set point.
“We were able to keep a high energy level,” said Hartmann, who also had seven kills in the quarterfinal win over Arborview. “Serving in and serving aggressively was a big difference.”
Westview (17-9) lost its third-place match to St. Margaret’s, 25-23, 19-25, 15-7. The Wolverines started the day with sweeps of La Costa Canyon and Mission Viejo.
The only other San Diego team to make the quarterfinals was Classical Academy, which beat St. Augustine in the morning playoff. Torrey Pines (14-2) bounced back after the loss to Sage Creek with a 25-21, 25-23 win over Classical Academy in a consolation match despite keeping Christian Connell on the bench. The Falcons finished in sixth place.
“Beating Torrey Pines is a huge accomplishment for us,” Hartmann said. “And then being able to keep that momentum into the championship, honestly I’m so happy. A lot of our leadership guys just doing their roles. Everyone kept the energy high the whole time. We just did a great job of maintaining that level.”
