VOLLEYBALL: Tigers place first in Silver Division of Las Vegas tournament

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(COURTESY/LESLIE BADDLEY)

KEEGAN NESS

The varsity boys volleyball team competed in the Las Vegas Easter Invitational Tournament last week during spring break. The team placed first in the Silver Division and seventh out of 48 teams with an overall record of 7-3.

After finishing 2-1 in a four-team pool on the first day, the Tigers were seeded second in their group. Later that day, the boys lost to Arbor View High School, who finished first in their pool, forcing the Tigers to play another game to qualify for Gold Division pool play. They won the match against Alemany High School in three games, putting them in Gold for the next day.

The Tigers were seeded third in their pool after the win against Alemany and faced the first seed in their opening match the second day. They faced Buchanan, who finished first in the Gold division, but lost in two games. Despite winning their next two matches in pool play against El Camino Real and Nevada Union, the Tigers were placed in the Silver Division for the tournament’s bracket play.

In the knockout rounds, the Tigers earned a first round bye in the six-team bracket and then won their semi final game against Centennial High School. In the final, the Tigers swept Bishop Gorman, who are ranked second in Nevada, in two games.

In addition to bringing home hardware over break, the Tigers returned to league play and defeated Cosumnes Oaks in three straight sets on Monday. The Tigers picked up right where they left off before spring break and still have yet to drop a set in league play.

Despite their continued dominance in league, senior outside hitter Jeffery Oh knows that being the best team in league does not necessarily translate into automatic success in top tournaments like the Las Vegas Invitational.

“In my four years of playing volleyball at Roseville, that was the most competitive volleyball I’ve ever played,” Oh said. “Going to tournaments like that, you realize how much better teams really are and how much more you need to push to get to that top level, because we didn’t even make it to the Gold bracket. That’s how good the competition is.”

The Tigers play Antelope on the road tonight and will head to Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose to play in the Bellarmine Invitational this weekend.