For a libero, Fletcher Duffey sure can dominate on the outside.
The junior moonlights as a hitter for the Ventura High boys volleyball team, playing outside of his typical club position in the back row, but he looked right at home on in first-round playoff match.
Duffey racked up nine kills and a team-high 15 digs to help lead Ventura to a 25-14, 25-18, 25-21 sweep of Vista Del Lago in the opening round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 5 playoffs on Wednesday, April 29.
“He is such an explosive player — he really fires the team up when he is out there,” Ventura head coach Tim Mays said of Duffey. “He has done so well at that position.”
No point was more indicative of Duffey’s impact on the game than midway through the third set, when a Vista Del Lago hit drilled him in the face, near his chin.
The ball ricocheted back across the net, then the Cougars set Duffey on their next two passing sequences. His kill to end the point was a big momentum swing for the team.
“I was willing the ball to come to me,” Duffey said. “It is always the best feeling when you get a dig and then get to swing right after. I was like, ‘Set me again,’ after the first hit and I somehow found a way through the block.”
Senior setter Theo Souther-Pasquarella finished with 36 assists, six kills and five digs and outside hitter Aidan McMeekin drove down a team-high 12 kills to go with five digs in the win.
Ventura (20-8) will travel to play Flintridge Prep (14-8) in the second round on Friday.
“We are going for a banner on the wall,” Duffey said. “That’s the goal, that’s always the goal.”
Ventura wasn’t the only area team to earn a sweep to open the playoffs Wednesday night.
The only local team in the Division 2 playoffs, Camarillo (27-4) defeated visiting Canyon (19-11) in straight sets, 25-21, 25-17, 25-18, to advance to the second round.
The Scorpions were defeated in the first round of the Division 3 playoffs last season.
Camarillo fell behind 6-1 in the third set after decisive wins in the first two, called timeout, then tied the match up 7-7 before going on to win and secure the sweep.
“It is the maturity of everyone as a unit — we are doing a really great job,” Camarillo coach Stephen Zavala said. “I am excited.”
Zavala credited senior opposite hitter Breck Bray with steadying the team with his play when its offense was underperforming during the playoff opener.
“When he is on, he is on,” Zavala said. “Tonight, when we were down, he had a gameplan and he kind of took charge. He kept his composure, kept his cool.”
Camarillo will play at Yorba Linda in a quarterfinal match on Tuesday, May 5.
Oak Park (10-12) also won its playoff opener in straight sets, 25-23, 26-24, 25-16, defeating visiting Damien (16-12) in the Division 4 bracket.
The Eagles battled in a competitive match, falling behind between six to eight points in both of the first two sets but winning all three.
“We had some rough patches throughout the season and the beginning, but we are playing our best volleyball right now,” Eagles head coach Colin Soper said.
Styles Haley Kettler had a team-high 15 kills and added three blocks, Zach Ohl had 22 digs and three assists, and Royal Knox finished with 40 assists and 11 digs as Foothill Tech (12-8) secured a 25-13, 25-19, 27-25 sweep of visiting Anaheim (18-14) at home in the first round of the Division 7 playoffs.
“Anaheim just really seemed to come to life in that third set,” Foothill Tech coach David Benedik said. “I felt like our guys were really able to dig deep, fight back and recapture the momentum towards the end of the match. It was a super-close ending and made the victory kind of feel sweeter.”
Foothill Tech will host Bell Gardens (14-18) on Friday at 6 p.m. in the second round.
It was a tough first round of the playoffs for Marmonte League teams.
Westlake (12-6) lost in straight sets on the road to Trabuco Hills (17-9) in the opening round of the Division 3 playoffs. The 2026 Marmonte League co-champions weren’t at their best, according to head coach Vanessa Murray.
“We were letting balls drop, we weren’t talking (and) we couldn’t stop their outside,” Murray said.
Newbury Park (14-6) battled to the end, nearly forcing a fifth-set tiebreaker before falling 25-23, 25-23, 23-25, 30-28 at Saugus (25-10) in the Division 3 playoffs.
Dominic Massimino is a staff writer for The Star. He can be reached at dominic.massimino@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcsdominic on Twitter and Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Local teams open CIF-SS boys volleyball playoffs with sweeps
Reporting by Dominic Massimino, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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