St. Augustine sweeps Mission Vista in anticipated rematch to win CIF-San Diego Section Division 1 boys volleyball championship

SAN DIEGO – St. Augustine had waited 70 days to secure a rematch against Mission Vista following a tough three-set loss at the Best of the West Invitational.

When it came to deciding the best team in CIF-San Diego Section Division 1, the top-seeded Saints only needed a little more than 70 minutes Friday night to sweep third-seed Mission Vista by a 25-21, 25-13, 25-23 margin and capture the championship at Mira Mesa High.

St. Augustine (21-11) won a section title in its third division and fourth different decade, securing its fifth crown in program history.

The Saints earned Division 3 championships in 1996 and 2004, followed by Division 4 titles in 2011 and 2012.

Mission Vista (23-14) was looking to follow its Division 2 championship last season by winning the Division 1 title.

The Timberwolves produced a 25-23, 25-27, 18-16 victory March 8 against St. Augustine in the silver division playoffs at the Best of the West Invitational at Alliant University.

The Saints went winless in six contests in the two-day tournament, but used the experience against such a challenging schedule to put together a seven-match winning streak during the past month, including postseason victories against Bonita Vista and Del Norte, before sweeping Mission Vista.

Noah Pabarcus, one of the top freshmen in the section, had seven of his 11 kills in the opening set for St. Augustine. Despite 10 ties in the first set, Pabarcus finally gave the Saints the advantage with a late offensive surge to seize the momentum.

Noah Pabarcus, left, and Hugo Hunt of St. Augustine boys volleyball team after winning CIF-San Diego Section Division 1 title | Photo courtesy of Noah Pabarcus

Pabarcus produced two of his three aces during a run of eight unanswered points that broke a 6-6 tie in the second set and Mission Vista was unable to recover.

Caleb Petsche contributed nine kills for Mission Vista, which overcame a seven-point deficit midway through the third set to tie the score at 18. The Timberwolves also rallied to pull even four more times in the set, including at 23-23, before St. Augustine was able to close it out and capture the championship.

Owen Adams, a senior middle blocker, matched Pabarcus for team-high honors with 11 kills, and junior Nick Boeh contributed nine kills for the Saints, who also received five kills from junior right-side hitter Ryan Reichenberg.

Middle blockers Merrick Swenson and Robert Hege collected six and four kills, respectively, and combined to record eight blocks for the Timberwolves.

St. Augustine is scheduled to make its first regional playoff appearance since 2012, still seeking the first state victory in program history in Tuesday’s opener.