ORANGE COUNTY ALL-STAR VOLLEYBALL MATCH : South Boys Sweep; North Girls Win

HUNTINGTON BEACH —  For David Berney, it was the shoes.

“Free shoes,” said Berney, who helped the South beat the North in the Orange County All-Star Volleyball match Friday night. “That was our motivation, the free shoes they gave us for playing.”

Berney, a setter from Laguna Beach, had 22 assists, all in the first game, and the South won, 15-13, 15-6, 15-12, at Golden West College.

Capistrano Valley’s Evan Alexander had seven kills and two blocks for the South and was named Most Valuable Player. Cypress’ Heather Lowe led the North to a 15-8, 14-16, 15-11 victory and was named MVP of the girls’ match.

Berney, who’s headed to USC next season, spread setting to a strong group of South hitters. Capistrano Valley’s Aaron Garcia finished with eight kills, University’s Donald Sun had five and Laguna Beach’s Madhava Davis had six.

“I could set anybody and really get a kill out of it tonight,” Berney said.

The North entered the match with nine players from Southern Section championship teams--four from Huntington Beach, two from Whittier Christian and three from Esperanza.

Esperanza setter Chris Pitzak paced the North with 22 assists, most to Aztec teammates Paul Nihipali (10 kills) and Brad Goldston (nine kills). Most of their offense came in the first game.

The South built a 14-7 lead in the first game. But the North fought off five game points to close with one, 14-13, before a kill by Sun ended it.

Alexander took over in the second game with five kills and a block as the South won easily.

Afterward, Berney said the South’s laid-back approach to the match made the difference.

“During practice we were cracking jokes and laughing,” Berney said. “We looked across the net and they (the North) were all serious. Then we come out and beat them three straight. It’s great.”

In the girls’ match, the North pulled out a three-game victory that it could have won in two.

The North led, 14-10, in the second game, but the South fought off five match points to tie the score, 14-14.

Hitting errors by the North’s Deana Itow and Lisa Brown gave the South the final two points--and the game.

The South built a 5-1 lead in the third game, which was played under rally-scoring rules. The North tied the score, 8-8.

A block and a kill by Lowe and an ace by Foothill’s Becca Foltz keyed a 7-3 run by the North to end the match.

Lowe finished with 10 kills and Foltz and Fountain Valley’s Lisa Brown each added four for the North.

“We felt that our middle blockers were a little stronger so we kept going there,” said Sunny Hills’ Ron Kasser, who coached the North.

Laguna Beach’s Rachel Wacholder, The Times’ county player of the year, and Capistrano Valley Christian’s Karen Benkovsky each had five kills to lead the South.

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North Coach Sandy Blumenthal, who missed the match because she is recovering from hip surgery, has resigned after 22 seasons at La Habra.

She coached La Habra to three consecutive Southern Section 3-A and State Division II titles from 1989-91.