A couple weeks ago, Point Loma High School boys volleyball coach Ethan Phung described the 2026 season as one of highs and lows.
After Saturday’s CIF State championship match, Phung and the Pointers chose to elevate the resilience and passion shown in set No. 2 (the high) rather than the result itself (the low).
The finish was a 25-15, 23-25, 25-20, 25-20 loss to Placerville El Dorado in Saturday’s Division 4 title match at Fresno City College.
“Regardless of win or lose, what they’ve accomplished up to this point may take a long time to be replicated again,” said Phung, who guided his team to the first CIF section championship in program history. “Although we didn’t perform up to expectations, my boys gave everything they were capable of at that moment, and I couldn’t have asked for more.”
The Pointers (23-13) had their chances after a slow start. Once they found their rhythm — particularly in the middle — they put together runs in sets two and three before committing crucial mistakes down the stretch.
Junior outside hitter Jack Wickersham led the way with a team-high 10 kills, six of them in the second.
Senior middle blocker Trevor Rutt finished with nine kills and two stuff blocks. Junior middle blocker Waylon Lundeen added five kills, and senior Jacob Heidor came off the bench with three kills — all in the fourth set.
Senior libero Anthony Wolf led the way defensively with 15 digs.
Point Loma’s slow start in set one led to a 15-5 deficit. The Pointers made 10 errors in the set.
Set No. 2 was a different story. Point Loma jumped out to leads of 6-0, 9-2 and 11-3 as Wickersham had three kills and a stuff block early on. Senior setter Grayson Sanicki consistently fed Wickersham and Rutt in the set. Wickersham’s kill on a 30 set out of the back row got Point Loma to set point. Receiving in rotation two plays later, junior opposite hitter Landon Ahern put a ball away for the set win.
Set three was tied at 11 before a pair of 5-0 runs by El Dorado (29-9) created a cushion. The Pointers had one more fight in them in the fourth set. Down 19-10, they reeled off six straight points, including an Ahern ace, a Wickersham kill and a Lundeen stuff block. A timeout ensued, and the Pointers made four errors down the stretch. They finished the match with 14 service errors.
“I’m insanely proud of these guys, and honestly was just so happy to be here today,” Phung said. “Making it to state had always been a personal dream of mine, and I was fortunate enough to have such a skilled group fall into my lap and take me for the ride. I honestly felt like just a VIP spectator during these playoff runs because these boys had the incredible ability to work things out on their own.”