St. Anthony’s players celebrate as they take down Western Christian in the CIF-SS Division 5 quarterfinals in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
St. Anthony’s Benji Bean (12) sets up the ball as the Saints take on Western Christian in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
St. Anthony’s Jack Furlow (5) returns the ball as the Saints take on Western Christian in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
St. Anthony’s Austin Luckey (15) tries to push the ball past Western Christians Mack Kurth (7) in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
St. Anthony’s Jack Furlow returns the serve as the Saints take on Western Christian in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
St. Anthony’s Jack Furlow (5) celebrates with his teammates as the Saints lead Western Christian in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
St. Anthony’s Griffin Bass (9) tries to hit the ball past Western Christians Jacob Bartholomew (10) in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Western Christian’s Mack Kurth (7) tries to block St. Anthonys Jack Furlows (5) hit in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
St. Anthony’s Jack Furlow (5) blocks the ball from Western Christians Mack Kurth (7) in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
St. Anthony’s Griffin Bass (9) looks to hit the ball past Western Christians Carter Doolittle (3) in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
St. Anthony’s Jack Furlow (5) tries to block Western Christians Carter Doolittles (3) hit in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
St. Anthony’s Noah Furlow (1) set the ball up as the Saints take on Western Christian in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
St. Anthonys Benji Bean (12) tries to block the ball from Western Christians Michael Mapes (13) in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
St. Anthony’s Noah Furlow (1) tries to tap the ball past Western Christians Jacob Barthmolomew (10) in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Western Christian’s Mack Kurth (7) looks to hit the ball past St. Anthonys Noah Furlow (1) in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
Western Christian’s Carter Doolittle (3) hits the ball around St. Anthonys Jack Futlow (5) in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
St. Anthony’s Griffin Bass (9) looks to hit the ball past Western Christians Jacob Bartholomew (10) in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
St. Anthony’s Eli Bell (22) hits one past Western Christians Michael Mapes (13) in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
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St. Anthony’s players celebrate as they take down Western Christian in the CIF-SS Division 5 quarterfinals in Long Beach, CA, on Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)
LONG BEACH — The St. Anthony boys volleyball team needed to regroup quickly after losing a back-and-forth battle with Western Christian in the fourth set of its CIF-SS Division 5 quarterfinal Wednesday night.
With the match tied and no room for a letdown, the Saints came back with a strong effort in the fifth set to finish the match and advance in the playoffs.
Led by junior Griffin Bass’ 28 kills, two of which came early in the final set, St. Anthony came away the victory, 25-18, 22-25, 25-19, 28-26, 15-7.
“Personally, I can be honest, the nerves were getting (to me) a little bit, but I knew I could get the kills,” Bass said. “As a team though, I’m really proud of how we handled our energy and communication.”
St. Anthony head coach Jeremy Malazarte said his team knew it could count on Bass, who is 6-foot-6, in the high-pressure moments.
“Bass is 6-6, not a lot of people could jump like that,” Malazarte said. “He’s definitely athletic, has good attitude, probably one of our hardest workers in the gym for sure.”
St. Anthony will play at Bellflower in the Division 5 semifinals Saturday at 6 p.m.
“I know (Bellflower) is pretty solid and we’re definitely watching film on them right now,” Malazarte said. “As long as my team is mentally strong, we get a good first touch, we should be fine.”
Led by the play of Bass and senior Jack Furlow, the Saints cruised to win in the first set.
Western Christian took a 13-6 lead in the second set.
St. Anthony tied the score at 22-22 with Bass’ 10th kill of the game. But the Fighting Lancers closed out the set to win 25-22.
Furlow’s brother, Noah Furlow, tallied two kills and 10 assists in the third set as St. Anthony took a 2-1 lead.
That set up an intense fourth set.
The lead was traded six times in the set, and neither team led by more than three points.
With a 25-24 advantage, the Saints were a point away from the win, but a kill from the Fighting Lancers’ captain, Michael Mapes, kept the game going.
Back-to-back scores from Mack Kurth and Mapes gave the set to Western Christian, 28-26.
That momentum, though, didn’t carry over into the fifth set. Instead, St. Anthony senior Austin Luckey’s kill sparked a run that helped the home team grab the victory.
“The pressure got to the guys. It fell apart and we couldn’t come back from there,” Western Christian head coach Sean Yamamoto said.