Royal Passes Test Against Fountain Valley

The concern was obvious, though the reason for it wasn’t.

Why would Royal High, the top-seeded boys’ volleyball team in the Southern Section Division I playoffs, be worried about Fountain Valley, a wild-card team that finished third in its league?

The anxiety, it turns out, was somewhat warranted.

Royal defeated Fountain Valley, 16-14, 15-10, 15-13, in a quarterfinal match Friday night at Royal that was more competitive than the scoreboard showed.

Fountain Valley (11-7) held leads in every game, including 14-8 in the first game and 8-7 in the third game, but simply couldn’t close when it had to.

With the Highlanders (26-0) in an emotional slump since winning the Redondo tournament two weeks ago--”We’ve been up [many] nights trying to figure out what’s going to get us through this,” Coach Bob Ferguson of Royal said--and with middle blocker Cam Dickson enduring a below-average night, it was outside hitter Ryan Moberly who stepped up.

Moberly, who has committed to Brigham Young, delivered 26 kills in 39 attempts and finished with a .538 hitting percentage.

“I knew they were going to play us pretty good, but I wanted to go all the way [to the championship],” Moberly said. “That’s what I’m here for. That’s what all of us are here for.”

The Highlanders play Corona del Mar in a semifinal match Wednesday at a site to be determined.

Brad Keenan, a 6-foot-8 middle blocker headed for Pepperdine, had 22 kills for Fountain Valley.

Dickson, who has signed with Cal State Northridge, had 16 kills and eight hitting errors for Royal.