CARLSBAD — It was around this time last year when Roman Payne left the Carlsbad High School boys volleyball team for an opportunity to play with Team USA’s under-19 team in the NORCECA Championships in Puerto Rico.
Without their 7-foot middle, the Lancers tied for first with Torrey Pines in the Coastal League and narrowly missed a chance at an Open Division Championship match against the Falcons after a five-set loss to Cathedral Catholic in the semifinals.
The revenge tour is turning out to be quite the adventure.
Carlsbad relied on its plethora of weapons, led by the Hawaii-bound Payne’s 14 kills and five stuff blocks, to secure a 25-20, 25-14, 31-29 home sweep of Torrey Pines and at least a share of a league championship Tuesday.
“They’ve worked so hard for this,” coach Annette Bashford said of her Carlsbad team that’s ranked No. 4 in the nation by MaxPreps.com.
“It’s been our goal all season. We know we have the talent but anybody can beat anybody on any given night. For them to rise to the occasion of every moment, it says a lot about their preparation, their ability to close. They just fight.”
It’s the first time since 2018 that someone knocked off the Falcons — the No. 7 team in the nation — for a league title.
Coach Nick Rubacky, whose Falcons (21-6, 3-2 Coastal League) have three more matches this week to end a run of 11 matches in nine days, made it clear it wasn’t what his team didn’t do Tuesday.
“They’ve got boys who are willing to go for it when it really matters, and they’re not afraid to make mistakes,” Rubacky said. “All the credit in the world goes to those guys. They have that within them to not let the moment be too big and to be confident in their abilities, and that’s how they played the whole match.”
Torrey Pines, which beat nationally-ranked Newport Harbor (No. 9) and hosts Redondo Union (No. 15) in the Redondo Union Invitational last weekend, was led by Ben Soudak’s 10 kills and Bjorn Hawe’s six.
Carlsbad (29-2, 5-0) has now won 14 in a row. Its last loss was to the nation’s No. 1 team in Mira Costa at the Best of the West Tournament.
The Lancers established dominance at the first whistle, jumping out to leads of 6-0 and 9-1. Payne had four kills and a stuff block in the match’s first 13 points. The Falcons scored more than two consecutive points just once to make it 22-17. Oliver Doty (seven kills) got a kill in transition to stop that run, and Nate Hedgecock’s stuff block on set point ended the first.
The Lancers held a slim 13-9 lead in set two until they went on a tear. Derek Bashford’s ace — one of 11 team aces on the night — finished a 5-0 run to end the set.
Bashford, who had six aces against the Falcons last week, dialed up six more Tuesday to go along with eight kills.
“I noticed in myself that when I take off pressure on my serve, it usually goes really far out,” said Bashford, who had three straight aces early in the third set. “When I keep the pressure up, I’m able to put that spin on the ball and keep the pressure on them.”
Payne was not only dominant at the net, routinely bouncing balls from the middle, he also helped the Lancers back-row defense show its game-changing ability. During one set-two rally, Payne served and then had three digs in the same rally.
It seems to be a mark of this Carlsbad team that every player contributes, and every teammate shares the responsibility that comes along with the glory.
“We’ve had the goal all season of winning league, winning CIF and then hopefully going on and winning state,” Payne said. “Obviously those are really hard goals so we have to keep practicing hard, keep playing hard. We always stay connected.”
Mira Costa is not only the last team to beat the Lancers this season, it’s the only one to do it.
Could the Lancers team be a team of destiny?
“This team has been working super hard,” Derek Bashford said. “We pick up the intensity at practice. We all want this. It’s been on our mind for a really long time. I’ve been a three-year starter here, and I’m tired of losing to (Torrey Pines). It feels really good.”
