ORANGE – The floor of the gym at Orange Lutheran might need some refurbishment.
Maybe repaint some striping that was chipped away. Perhaps repair some divots.
That is how hard Orange Lutheran boys volleyball outside hitter Sam Utu spikes the ball. That court took a beating Saturday, all because of one guy.
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Utu had 29 kills, including 12 in the fourth and final set, most of them with the velocity of a Mason Miller fastball, as the Lancers beat St. Margaret’s in a CIF Southern Section Division 2 semifinal playoff game Saturday at Orange Lutheran High.
Orange Lutheran (24-10) will play Edison (20-14) in the Division 2 championship game either Friday or Saturday of next week, and perhaps at Cerritos College. Specific locations, dates and times for CIF-SS boys volleyball championship matches will be announced Monday.
Edison beat Camarillo in five sets in Saturday’s other Division 2 semifinal, at Camarillo High.
Orange Lutheran lost to Tesoro in last season’s Division 3 final. The Lancers won CIF-SS boys volleyball championships in 2005 and 2018,
Utu is 6-foot-4 and 320 pounds, and is on his way to Southern Methodist University on a football scholarship. He was All-Orange County first team as an offensive lineman.
St. Margaret’s finished its season 25-5. The Tartans, with only eight players on the roster, won two playoff games after winning the Pacific Coast League championship.
Utu’s power and quick feet impressed St. Margaret’s coach Bob Yoder.
“He’s pretty unique,” Yoder said. “He doesn’t jump that high, he hits the ball low, his hits are super heavy and he moves around really well.”
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Orange Lutheran coach Henry Valiente has seen plenty of Utu, of course.
“If there’s anyone in the world that could pop a ball consistently,” Valiente said, “it’s him. I’ve played volleyball for 20 years. I’ve never been afraid of getting hit by the ball until I played defense agaisnt that guy.”
Orange Lutheran senior outside hitter Josiah Trautman had 18 kills and seven digs.
Utu, whose uncle Junior Uth also was a high school two-way standout – basketball and volleyball – at La Quinta in the 1990s, said playing for a championship was in Orange Lutheran’s plans for months.
“This means a lot to all of us, especially the seniors,” he said. “When our team would hang out together early in the season we all said we were destined to win a championship and do great things.”
Valiente said the opportunity to win a CIF title is important, but he had another reason to celebrate Saturday’s win.
“As a coaching staff, we want to be around these guys as much as possible,” Valiente said. “We want more time with them, and we’re getting that.”
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