Desert Oasis boys roll to Warrior Invitational volleyball title

Desert Oasis’ boys volleyball team finished second at last year’s Warrior Invitational at Western, but the Diamondbacks believed they could’ve done better.

They proved it Saturday.

Desert Oasis jumped to an 11-3 lead in the first game of the championship match and never looked back en route to a 25-7, 25-16 win over Liberty at Western.

“As young as we are, it’s huge. It really is,” Desert Oasis coach Ross Dyer said of winning the title. “For Zach (Bobenhausen) and Trevor (Zarvian), two of the seniors who have been around since the beginning, they know what it’s like.

“But for the rest of them, it’s a big thing to come in here. They were on a mission, and they fulfilled it. We had a good day.”

Zarvian tallied 15 assists, three kills, three blocks and two aces in the title match.

“I’ve been playing for three years now, and we’ve been working the middle for three years,” Zarvian said, adding the presence of four outside hitters who stand 6 feet 2 inches or taller greatly improves the team. “That experience helps.”

Bobenhausen added five kills and three aces in the title match en route to tournament Most Valuable Player honors.

Cameron Mich’l and Sean Drunkenmiller each supplied four kills for Desert Oasis, with Drunkenmiller also posting three blocks.

“They’re still ragged, but they’re doing a great job,” Dyer said of the two hitters with barely three weeks of experience. “We now have enough tall people that we feel we can compete with pretty much any team in the valley.

“We might not beat them, but we won’t be the doormats that we were before.”

Gil Lim had six kills to lead Liberty, which pulled even at 13-13 in the second game before an 8-2 Diamondbacks run put away the match. Drunkenmiller had back-to-back points on a kill and a block to lead the critical charge.

“It’s going to give us some momentum,” Zarvian said. “It helps going into the match Thursday (at Rancho) to give us a lot of confidence that we need.”

Oscar Palma chipped in five assists for the Patriots.

Zarvian and Mich’l were joined on the all-tournament team by Palma and Liberty teammate Harley Tagab. Canyon Springs’ Alkeley Harris and Durango’s Dex Alston also received all-tournament honors.

The Trailblazers finished third in the eight-team event with an 11-25, 25-10, 15-13 win over the Pioneers.