POWAY — Mission Vista rode 6-foot-3 outside hitter Brody Hagenah to a CIF San Diego Section Division II boys volleyball championship in 2024.
This year, coach Miriam Gardner went to an offense that spread the sets around more to the tune of five players with at least 92 kills.
The result is an opportunity at another CIF title.
The No. 3 seed Timberwolves will attempt to make it two straight championships after disposing of host Poway, 25-23, 25-17, 19-25, 25-21, in Wednesday’s CIF Division I semifinal.
They will play top-seeded St. Augustine (20-11) — a 3-1 winner over Del Norte (21-19) in the other semifinal — on Friday night at 7:30 at Mira Mesa High School.
“What made a big difference is our middles are really strong this year, and then our outsides really worked hard and pulled through,” Gardner said. “Being able to mix different and not know where the ball’s coming from. And our setter is phenomenal. He’ll get the ball wherever it needs to be.”
That would be senior Cody Krohn, one of the county’s best and the director of a well-rounded Timberwolves (23-13) attack. Seven Mission Vista players notched kills, led by junior middle Merrick Swenson’s 12.
Junior outside Donovan Wilson added eight kills and junior outside Caleb Petsche — who leads the Timberwolves with 193 kills on the season — also chipped in eight.
Krohn’s ability to set any hitter at any point in the play kept the Titans block off balance.
“When we play these higher-level teams, they have players all around the ball,” said Krohn, who also had four kills of his own. “So being able to spread the offense more and be able to get the solo blocks, and then our hitters put those balls away. It’s more important for our team to run a complete offense rather than rely on just one big hitter.”
Freshman Daniel Hornyak led Poway with 13 kills. Seniors Jack Fleck and Lucas Nickson had nine and eight kills, respectively, but the Titans (25-17) struggled to find a rhythm all night.
“Tonight, what it was really about was trying to find the fight,” Poway coach Charlie Jackson said. “They had good energy and a good scheme against us that we were struggling to stop. When we found a way to stop it we brought the energy. I give credit to Mission Vista. They stayed calm and found a way to push through.”
In a first set that featured 11 ties and 12 lead changes, the Titans appeared to be set to close strong with a 21-17 lead after Luke Jorgensen’s kill from the right side. But five unforced errors in the set’s final 10 plays proved costly for the hosts. Swenson had three kills down the stretch for the Timberwolves, including crushing a one set on match point.
A Landen Roberts kill tied set two at 2-2, but that was the last time the Titans would be that close. The Timberwolves ran off four straight and then played outstanding defense the rest of the set while relying on contributions from every hitter. They got points from five different players, including two kills on second-ball attacks by Cody Krohn and three kills overall from the senior setter. Petsche had two kills down the stretch, including on set point.
The Titans looked like a completely different team in set No. 3. They jumped out to an 8-3 lead before a Timberwolves timeout. All three points for Mission Vista at that point came on Poway serving errors. Another Timberwolves timeout came nine points later after Poway setter Jayden Tye ripped two consecutive aces.The Timberwolves put together a late 6-1 run but Nickson put away a quick ball in the middle for the set win.
That late run clearly gave the Timberwolves their swagger back. They jumped out to an 8-0 lead, forcing Jackson to call a timeout. Petsche followed the timeout with an ace, and then the Titans woke up. They went on a 15-5 run to take a 15-14 lead.
But Mission Vista remained steady, scoring five straight to take a 19-15 lead. The Titans got to within three twice, but Wilson’s kill in serve receive ended it to give the Timberwolves a shot at repeating.
“During the timeouts we came together in the huddle, and I ultimately told them, the score is 0-0, the sets are 0-0,” Krohn said. “We have to come out with energy just like in the beginning of the game just like we haven’t played at all. It’s important to stay fired up and just want to win.”
