Warriors tie for second in volleyball standings

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

Fallbrook High School's boys volleyball team shared second place in the final Valley League standings.

The Warriors posted a 7-3 record during their 10 league matches. Escondido defeated Fallbrook twice while Fallbrook and Mission Vista split their two matches.

“It was kind of bittersweet,” said Fallbrook coach Chip Patterson.

The Warriors began league play March 21 at Valley Center and defeated the Jaguars in 25-22, 25-18, and 25-19 sets. Escondido traveled to Fallbrook for a March 23 match and the Cougars were on the winning end of the 25-22, 25-9, 25-22 score.

“Escondido, they have a club setter, they have solid outside hitters, and they play defense like there’s no tomorrow,” Patterson said.

A non-league home match March 24 against Victory Christian Academy was a 25-6, 25-16, 25-22 Warriors triumph. Due to Spring Break issues, the second match with Valley Center was moved up to March 29, and that match in Fallbrook was a 24-26, 25-11, 25-22, 25-16 Warriors victory.

Oceanside visited the Warriors’ gym March 31 for a league competition with the Warriors prevailing in that 21-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-11 match. A non-league match April 1 at Southwest (South San Diego) was won by Fallbrook in 25-16, 25-18, and 25-18 games. A 25-16, 25-18, 25-11 league match April 5 at San Pasqual gave the Warriors a five-match winning streak.

Mission Vista hosted Fallbrook in an April 7 match, and the Timberwolves won 25-19, 25-14, and 25-21 games. The Warriors then lost a 25-21, 25-18, 25-15 non-league home match against Mission Hills.

Fallbrook returned from Spring Break with a 25-11, 25-21, 25-17 home victory over San Pasqual. The April 26 rematch against Mission Vista was played in Fallbrook, and the Warriors prevailed in five games.

“This time it was a bit different,” Patterson said.

Patterson noted that Fallbrook was missing players during the April 7 match against the Timberwolves while Mission Vista was short-handed April 26. “One player can make a difference,” he said.

Fallbrook overcame a 2-0 Mission Vista lead to win the match. The Timberwolves began with 26-24 and 25-19 wins. Fallbrook then won 25-22, 25-23, and 16-14 games.

The April 28 match against Escondido was the third of the season between the Warriors and the Cougars. The two had played on Escondido’s court March 5 in the Del Lago Tournament with the Cougars taking 25-23 and 25-20 sets in that match.

Fallbrook was able to win a set April 28. “We did take them to four. We could have taken them to five, but my kids, they had mental breakdowns,” Patterson said.

The Warriors had leads in all four games. Escondido won the 25-16 first set. Fallbrook maintained the lead in the second game which ended with a 25-18 score.

The third set also had a 25-18 final score but in Escondido’s favor. “We let them pull away from us. It was just things like that that kept hurting us all year,” Patterson said.

The reversal of Escondido’s fourth-game deficit produced a 25-21 Cougars triumph.

Escondido is in Division II for CIF playoff purposes. Fallbrook is in Division III.

Regular-season play for Fallbrook concluded April 29 at home against Helix. The Highlanders won that 25-15, 25-18, 25-18 non-league match. Fallbrook ended the regular season with a 17-14 overall record.

Prior to the losses to Escondido and Helix, the Warriors were ranked sixth among Division III teams. The April 30 CIF playoff selection and seeding meeting gave Fallbrook the seventh seed. “I wish we could have stayed at the six seed, but seven is good,” Patterson said.

In 2021, Fallbrook had a 2-6 Valley League record, a 6-14 regular-season overall mark, and the 12th seed in the CIF Division II playoffs. “It was a big improvement this year. We’ve improved tremendously from years past,” Patterson said.

“Fallbrook is not known for volleyball, so I’m extremely happy,” Patterson said. “These kids are giving me their all.”