Loyola’s volleyball team wants to return to championship ways
It’s 6 a.m. at Loyola High School. Students are expected to sleep in unless they are on the swim team doing laps at the pool early in the morning. So why, in the name of the beach, the surf and the sun, does the volleyball team practice in the gym?
Welcome to the crunch time of February, when teams in winter sports like basketball are busy with the playoffs and teams in spring sports like volleyball are preparing for the start of their season.
“It’s pretty brutal,” said 6-foot-8 volleyball star Blake Fahlbusch, who would rather surf in the morning and practice volleyball in the afternoon.
Veteran coach Michael Boehle, sipping coffee, understands this routine is only temporary and does his best to get his players focused on their morning routine.
The Cubs begin their season next week with the motivation that they have “unfinished business.”
Last year, at one point, they were the best team in Southern California, but there were too many distractions and too many obstacles to overcome. The players lost their homes in the Palisades fire. Boehle discovered he had prostate cancer. A well-known classmate, Braun Levi, was killed by a suspected drunk driver.
Boehle, feeling refreshed and excited after surgery removed the cancer, thinks the chemistry is better. Fahlbusch, a USC commit, is a candidate for best in the Southland because of his size and athleticism.
JP Wardy, a 6-4 Pepperdine commit, arrived from Newport Harbor to play his senior year at Loyola, the school he was scheduled to attend as a freshman until he moved to San Diego for family reasons.
It’s the rise and brilliance of Loyola’s volleyball players during a 6 a.m. practice session.
(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)
“It’s great to be back,” Wardy said. “I missed being at Loyola. Growing up, I feel like this was supposed to be the school I would go to.”
Loyola libero Matt Kelly is the brother of UCLA star Sean Kelly. He’s committed to Loyola Chicago, and with his big brother’s quality of service, practicing against him has allowed Matt to be ready for anything. There’s also 6-6 Lucas Posell, a Princeton commit with a 4.7 GAA.
The usual title contenders should be the teams to watch along with Loyola – Mira Costa, Redondo Union, Huntington Beach, Corona del Mar and Newport Harbor.
Mateo Fuerbringer of Mira Costa is a UCLA commit.
(Mira Costa)
There are plenty of top players, from juniors Teddy Mandelbaum and Mateo Fuerbringer of Mira Costa, both committed to UCLA, to Taylor Boice of Redondo Union, a UC Irvine commit. Mira Costa also added Jake Newman, a transfer from Mater Dei.
Boehle will be coaching in his 28th year, having won seven Southern Section championships. The Cubs have won every Mission League title since sharing the crown with Harvard-Westlake in 2007 and haven’t lost a championship game since this season.
Loyola students cheer on the Loyola men’s volleyball team during a match against Mira Costa on March 21, 2025.
(Steve Galluzzo / For Time)
The annual Loyola-Mira Costa non-league game that draws fans in droves is scheduled for March 20 at Mira Costa.
The Cubs open their season Feb. 24 at home against Newport Harbor, so Wardy will greet his former teammates across the net.
As for his first impressions of his new team, Wardy said: “We’re doing good. I’m excited. The practices are competitive, which I really like because it helps us get better.”
