Edison boys’ volleyball secures senior night win over Fountain Valley

A Sunset League boys’ volleyball schedule can hardly be classified as light.

Edison reinforced its lineup to deal with the heavy lifting, welcoming senior outside hitter Nathan Jackson back into the lineup.

Jackson had 10 kills and four block assists to help the host Chargers earn a 25-18, 25-22, 20-25, 28-26 senior night win over Fountain Valley on Friday in a Sunset League match.

“Tonight was pretty big, especially because it was senior night, and that’s huge for us,” said Jackson, who made his season debut after sustaining a concussion on the soccer field during the CIF Southern Section playoffs. “We got a bunch of fans showing out. … It’s huge to get the chemistry back with me being back on the court and just getting ready for the harder games in league.”

Edison (7-9, 2-2 in the Sunset League) will be under pressure to perform the rest of the way, where it places in the league likely holding the key to its CIF postseason aspirations.

The Chargers did secure a nonleague win against Tesoro, 25-13, 15-25, 25-23, 25-12 in the Rocky Ciarelli Invitational on Saturday, before being clipped on Monday by Redondo Union (24-26, 25-19, 26-24, 25-23), which was also among the six teams featured in the weekend showcase at Huntington Beach High.

As Fountain Valley (13-4, 1-3) threatened to send Friday’s match to a fifth set, Jackson delivered two late kills to give the Chargers a pair of match points. Edison needed four match points to end it but never faced a set point in the final game.

Senior setter Kyle Duffey scooped a bump set off the net, and senior outside hitter Nathan King — who endured an uneven performance with eight hitting errors — used the last of his nine kills to earn the fourth match point.

“That’s a big swing,” Jackson said of King. “It’s pretty confident. It’s the side of him that we need the whole time. We know he has it, but you just got to show it night in and night out.”

Fountain Valley, which had battled back from the brink of defeat three times — courtesy of two kills by middle blocker Billy Watkins and another by outside hitter Alec Pinedjian — saw the comeback fall short when a swing by opposite Ben Braithwaite wound up in the net.

Edison coach Elias Perez said the Barons presented a challenge as a group that plays with “super-high energy” and “scrappy defense,” but he also categorized the matches against Fountain Valley and Marina as “must-win” scenarios for the Chargers.

“We talk a lot about short-term memory if something doesn’t go our way,” Perez added. “I think this match was a good example. It was a lot of side-out volleyball tonight, just one team going at the other, and then that team siding out.

“The big thing tonight was going back to the service line, ‘Let’s just get one point on the defensive end.’ You go to make your serve, just getting one ball on defense. I think at the end of that fourth set, that’s what it kind of came down to...us making a serve, and then we got one point on defense, and then that kind of bled into us being able to close that match out.”

Duffey finished with 31 assists, four service aces and two kills for Edison. Senior opposite Connor McNally had a match-leading 17 kills to go with two block assists. Senior outside hitter Ian Joyce added 11 kills and three block assists.

“I think it’s all in our own side [of the net],” McNally said. “Beginning of the season, the passing wasn’t very good, but Nate [Jackson], when he’s back, he’s going to add a big spark to that. If we pass good, it’s just going to open up our hitters.”

McNally, who took swings from both pins during the match, said he felt Jackson’s return could pay dividends in allowing him to focus more on hitting.

Freshman middle blocker Shane Wright provided five kills and 4½ total blocks, and junior middle blocker Brent Benson had six kills and three block assists. Junior setter Kion Cumme supplied an additional 18 assists.

Watkins had 14 kills and 3½ total blocks to pace the Barons. Middle blocker Christopher Pham produced eight kills; outside hitter Kayden Tran, Braithwaite and Pinedjian each contributed seven kills. Outside hitter Peter Pham chipped in with six kills.

Sean Pham distributed 23 assists, and Trevin Le added 18 assists for Fountain Valley.

Also in the Rocky Ciarelli Invitational:

Huntington Beach 3, Redondo Union 0: Junior opposite Ben Arguello had 17 kills as the host Oilers earned a 25-23, 25-18, 25-19 sweep of the Sea Hawks on Saturday.

Sophomore outside hitter Logan Hutnick pounded out 15 kills, junior outside hitter Colin Choi had seven kills, and senior middle blocker Nick Ganier added six kills for Huntington Beach (20-2), which visits Fountain Valley on Friday with a chance to run the table through the first half of the Sunset League.

Senior setter Kai Gan handed out 37 assists and senior libero Aiden Atencio provided 11 digs on defense.

Newport Harbor 3, San Clemente 2: The Sailors earned a 25-22, 25-23, 13-25, 20-25, 15-11 win over the Tritons on Saturday.

Newport Harbor improved to 13-6 overall.