Boys Volleyball:

Talk about your ultimate payback.

And it only took a week to accomplish.

The Upland High School volleyball program entered the CIF-SS Division 3 title match versus Royal having not lost in almost two months.

To their credit, Royal, also named the Highlanders, swept UHS on May 14th at Long Beach City College.

Instead of pouting or feeling sorry for themselves, they got back in the gym and worked their butts off.

And it paid massive dividends.

UHS would sweep Scripps Ranch and Westview in the CIF State D-2 playoffs to set up a rematch with Royal.

And this time it was in the RHS gym in Simi Valley.

After dropping the first set, UHS would win in five to claim a CIF State Division 2 championship.

They won by scores of 21-25, 25-19, 25-20, 24-26 and 15-13.

Jordan Lucas had a monster night with 27 kills and 12 digs.

Kai Vogel added 12 kills and a pair of aces.

Isaiah Vogel chipped in with 18 kills and four aces.

And Cian Slade contributed eight kills and three blocks.

Upland finishes with an incredible 40-4 record.

Lastly, we asked UHS coach Scott Robertson to touch on the following topics:

How did the boys react to the CIF-SS title-game loss to Royal & then a week later, what was different in claiming a road victory over that same team that swept you? Who stepped up and how? What does it say about their character to respond? Who are your seniors and what would you want to say about their commitment to the program and to each other?

Quotable:

UHS coach, Scott Robertson: “(Regarding the loss to Royal) We were making our first trip to the finals, there was a lot of time off, we got out of our routine and played at a bigger site (Long Beach City College), and all of that caused us to play tight. But we learned a lot from that loss, we gained valuable experience, and we did everything we could this last week to get back to our routine. The team displayed resiliency by being able to rebound from such a disappointing performance the week before. I think losing the way we did was a wakeup call, and remotivated the players. The whole week, we prepared as if we were going to have to travel to Royal and get our opportunity for revenge. And that’s what we wanted. Any other team would have been a letdown. And, beating them at their place with their fans made it even more sweet. I think having to go into that hostile environment was more of an accomplishment than winning at a neutral site.

We have four seniors, Brennan Andres – did not play much, but showed up everyday, practiced hard, was always ready to play when called upon and was a huge presence for our bench. Jaden Kodongan, captain senior setter, was the guy that would do anything we asked him to do. extremely selfless, puts the team ahead of himself. Jordan Lucas, 100% committed to winning, pushed his teammates to be their best. Would not accept anything less than 100% from them. Could always depend on him for a scouting report of the other team. The kid eats, sleeps and breathes volleyball. Cian Slade Captain Middle Hitter, a fun loving charismatic person. I call him the architect, he was vital in getting Joran to transfer to Upland and he and I developing a relationship during the girls season, made me feel comfortable to take on the coaching responsibilities of the boys program as well. And Niko Hernandez played middle for us most of the season. Did all the dirty work, did not get many sets but opened up some holes for the other hitters to be successful. A bundle of energy is the guy that help get and keep them team fired up.”