Princeton-bound Sean Kelly leads Loyola to volleyball playoff victory

Smiling, having fun and playing as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulder, Sean Kelly recorded 21 kills Tuesday night to help top-seeded Loyola defeat Edison 25-14, 25-13, 25-22 in Southern Section Division 1 pool play.

The night before, Kelly announced that he had finalized his college choice, choosing Princeton over Stanford. He’s a junior considered perhaps the No. 1 volleyball prospect in the nation.

“It just felt right,” Kelly said.

Loyola is 2-0 in pool play. The top four seeds are all unbeaten going into Saturday’s decisive final round that will have Newport Harbor hosting Mira Costa and Loyola hosting Corona del Mar.

The Cubs got strong play from freshman Blake Fahlbusch, who had seven kills.

Kelly’s all-around play was too much for Edison. He also had three aces and two blocks. His decision to attend Princeton doesn’t come as a surprise. He’s an A student and will be joining four other Loyola players on the Tigers’ roster.

“Sean is cerebral and knows what he wants,” Loyola coach Mike Boehle said. “He turned down full rides for Ivy League education.”

Softball

Huntington Beach 2, Westlake 0: When you come out to talk to Zoe Prystajko in the circle, Huntington Beach coach Jeff Forsberg said, you need to have a plan.

Can’t throw cliches and clap your hands and walk away. Can’t just tell her to throw three strikes. Every decision must be justified. Prystajko, a junior Stanford commit, is whip smart, almost too smart for her own good, Forsberg joked.

So when he strolled to the circle in the top of the sixth inning, a 0-0 game suddenly in the balance after an error and single put runners on first and third without an out, Forsberg didn’t much talk to Prystajko. Didn’t need to. Her approach didn’t waver.

“Knowing in my head — they’re not going to score off me, and always thinking I have the upper hand,” Prystajko said.

The Oilers’ star pitcher induced a popout, a grounder to her that she turned into an out at the plate, and a strikeout. It was just one of numerous jams she escaped across a 15-strikeout, seven-inning beauty of a shutout in Huntington Beach’s win over Westlake in the wild-card round of the Southern Section Division 1 softball playoffs.

Prystajko continued to stake her claim as one of the top pitchers in the Southern Section playoffs, entering the game with a 0.97 earned-run average.

“She reminds me of Justin Verlander … gets better as the game goes on,” Forsberg said.

First baseman Tea Gutierrez picked up a sixth-inning, two-out, two-strike, two-run single to provide the only runs for the Oilers, who were largely held in check as Westlake’s Kaitlyn Barstow dominated in her own right.

Huntington Beach will advance to play Torrance in the opening round of the D1 bracket.

— Luca Evans

Eastvale Roosevelt 4, Beaumont 0: It took nine innings before Roosevelt prevailed after a pitching duel between Cam Salmon and Lyv Hernandez.

Sierra Canyon 4, Santa Margarita 3: In the 13th inning, Nina Peyton-Johnson hit a home run to break the tie and lift Sierra Canyon to victory.

Garden Grove Pacifica 4, Bonita 1: Delaina Maae went three for three with three RBIs to lead Pacifica to a Division 1 wild-card win. Brynne Nally struck out 11.

Chino Hills 13, Villa Park 9: Regan Shockley contributed three hits and four RBIs and Morgan Knubuhler hit a home run to power Chino Hills in Division 1. Rowan Drew had four RBIs for Villa Park.

La Palma Kennedy 7, Crescenta Valley 4: Rebecca Rubio had two hits and Daniella Contreras added two RBIs in a Division 3 wild-card game.