It never hurts to have the national player of the year on your team.
But for Loyola High School of Los Angeles, UCLA-bound Sean Kelly was not the sole reason for its success.
“They bought into the culture and the discipline needed to do what we did,” Cubs coach Michael Boehle said. “They bought into the concept of playing together and trusting each other. They bought into the Loyola way. It was pretty standard from the beginning. Last year, they got a taste, actually a little more than a taste. Sean and I met and he told me, ‘Let’s go out and get another. Guys bought into their roles. We had outstanding players and human beings, but we had to get everybody to buy in. That was the most important part.”
Loyola was dominant, losing only one match all season to Mater Dei (in three sets) at the Best of the West tournament. The Cubs (32-1-1) then went on a 24-match winning streak, losing only six sets along the way in winning not only a California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Division I title for the first time since 2016, but winning their second CIF SoCal Division I regional title in a row (Loyola lost to Newport Harbor in the 2022 SoCal final).
Add to that now the honor of the Cubs being named the 2024 VolleyballMag boys high school team of the year for a second year in a row.
“Losing only six sets during that winning streak showed how bad the kids wanted it,” Boehle said. “We played a lot of good teams. We beat Mira Costa three times (the last two for the SS and SoCal titles) and played Corona del Mar (3 wins) and Newport Harbor and beat an incredible Huntington Beach team (5-set win to open SS pool play). We went on a roll and beat all the top teams.”
In the two CIF postseason tournaments, Loyola went 7-0 and lost a grand total of three sets.
“We were so strong this year for multiple reasons,” Cubs senior setter Parker Schloss said. “For one, most of the guys on the team have played together in club or previous years, which made the connection on the court a lot easier and effortless, but I also think we were so strong due to our connection and bond we had off the court. We had a very tight team and that played a big role in games and ultimately winning the natty (national championship).”
While the 6-7 Kelly certainly drew headlines, the Cubs were able to thrive due key contributions from others. For instance, Loyola’s two middle blockers, senior…
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