Four Warrior spikers given all-league honors

Four Fallbrook High School boys volleyball players were selected for all-league status by the Valley League coaches.

Justice Patterson was placed on the first team while honorable mention distinction was given to Matthew Araiza, Angel Mercado, and Jake Klingsberg.

"I'm extremely proud of those boys," said Fallbrook coach Chip Patterson.

Last year, Fallbrook was in the Avocado West League and the only all-league selection was Isaac Maxwell, who was on the second team. The Warriors did not have any all-league selections for 2014.

"It's a great improvement," Patterson said. "It's showing the upward momentum."

The 2015 Warriors were 0-12 in Avocado West League competition and 5-20 overall. This year's team posted an 11-15 overall record, and Fallbrook's 3-7 showing in Valley League matches gave the Warriors fourth place in the six-team final standings.

The win in the Warriors' March 24 league opener against Valley Center broke a 73-match league losing streak and was Fallbrook's first league win since 2008, when the Warriors were in the Avocado League.

"I hope we continue to grow and add momentum to it," said Patterson.

Justice Patterson is an outside hitter who was a junior during the 2016 season.

"I'm extremely proud of him," said Chip Patterson of Justice Patterson. "He held it together. He never quits."

Four of Fallbrook's victories this year were in the March 18-19 Del Lago tournament with the Warriors' two losses in that tournament occurring in matches against Serra. One of those losses to Serra was in the championship match, and Justice Patterson was named to the all-tournament team.

"This year he really stepped up his game and he led the team," said Chip Patterson. "He motivated those guys to continue to play even when everybody else was giving in."

Patterson led the team with 228 kills and had a .389 hitting percentage, which is determined by subtracting hitting errors from kills and dividing that amount into the total number of attempts. Patterson also led the Warriors with 179 digs and 35 serving aces. His 32 blocks, which placed fourth on the team, consisted of 17 solo blocks and 15 assisted blocks.

Araiza, who is a middle blocker, was also a junior during the 2016 season. He had 93 kills, 91 blocks consisting of 65 solo blocks and 26 assisted blocks, 14 digs, and six aces.

Klingsberg was Fallbrook's other starting middle blocker. His senior season included a team-leading 104 blocks consisting of 73 solo blocks and 31 assisted blocks. He also had 106 kills, 101 digs, 58 assists, and 13 aces.

Mercado was the Warriors' primary setter during his junior season and had 438 of the team's 544 assists. He also recorded 88 digs, 16 kills, 13 aces, four solo blocks, and one assisted block.