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Sports

Brentwood School Spikers Bounced from Playoffs

The third-seeded Eagles are upset by Culver City in the second round of the Division 4 draw.

Prior to Thursday night's CIF Southern Section Division 4 quarterfinal match, Brentwood School boys volleyball coach Jeff Porter said he thought his team was good enough to make at least the semifinals.

Instead, the third-seeded Eagles are taking an early exit from the postseason after a tough 25-19, 27-25, 21-25, 26-24 road loss at the hands of unseeded Culver City. 

"This is a senior heavy team, they know every match anyone can beat you if you don' play well," Porter said. "They're very wise in that way. They keep themselves in check."   

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In the end, Brentwood (13-3) simply had no answer for Centaurs attacker Andy Aguila, who finished with 25 kills, seven solo blocks and 10 digs. Energized by its home crowd, Culver City overcame a 16-9 deficit in the second set to take a commanding two sets to none lead. 

"I'm not going out in a sweep," a Brentwood player was heard to say after Game 2--and his words proved prophetic as the Eagles won the third game to stay alive.

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The fourth set went back-and-forth, with neither team building a lead of greater than three points. Culver City led 24-23 when Coach Joe Manzo advised his team not to let up.

"I told them that the game was not over, this team was going to come back and try to beat us," Manzo said during the last timeout."We have a great opportunity to win this match."

Brentwood, co-champion of the Alpha League, was led by outside hitters Dan Plonsker and Greg Oliva and entered Tuesday's contest on a seven-match winning streak. 

"If you would've told me at the beginning of the day that we would be up 2-1 with a game-point on the line 24-23 with the possibility to win, I wouldn't have believed it," Manzo said. "These kids came and wanted to play and did what they needed to do to win." 

The unseeded Centaurs (16-13-1) will travel to Yucaipa on Saturday for a 7 p.m. quarterfinal match. The Citrus Belt League champion Thunderbirds (17-1-1) beat Sage Hill in five sets Thursday. 

"Culver City played very well and it's been a great run with these kids," Porter said. "This group's been together since they were freshman."

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