IRVINE -- The Tesoro boys volleyball team made a triumphant return to the top of the South Coast League summit.
The Titans defeated Beckman, 21-25, 25-22, 25-23, 23-25, 16-14, on Thursday to clinch a share of the South Coast League title, their first since 2023.
Tesoro (21-6, 6-1) lost to the Patriots (20-9, 3-3) twice in league last season but still went on to win a CIF-SS title in the postseason.
Titans coach Darian Romasoc was pleased with the way his team responded after dropping the opening set.
"It was really gritty, probably throughout the whole match." Romasoc said. "I don't think we started the way we wanted to. We were a little bit flat, but after we got going, I think everybody was pretty dialed in and the focus and the intensity was there."
Beckman coach Darin McBain gave his players credit for their activity level to start the match despite playing in their third game in as many days.
"I love the energy of our guys. I love the fight of our guys," McBain said. "We're dealing with some injuries, and we've had some sick kids lately, but they really stepped up today. This is the third night in a row that we've played. We went four (sets) with San Clemente last night, and then Trabuco on Tuesday. So it's been a long week, and the outcome isn't what we wanted, obviously, but I told the guys after the match, you can be upset about the result, but you can't be upset about the way we fought and the way we battled it."
The Titans made a late push in both the second and third sets to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Tesoro's Max Draper finished with a game-high 29 kills, Brody Williams had 17 kills and Carson Hatch added 11 kills.
Setter Cash Summers had 58 assists and senior libero Alex Barrientos had 12 digs.
"Max Draper is easily our go-to guy when it comes down to it, and then I think Alex Barrientos there's a lot of heart in that guy," Romasoc said. "Those two kind of just keep the mold and hold the team together."
Robert Linker had a team-high 27 kills for Beckman and Nathan Peters had 10 kills.
McBain mentioned that Linker did not play Tuesday and sat out the first set due to a fever against San Clemente before playing the next three sets to help the Patriots get the win.
"He's a beast," McBain said of Linker. "He's the best player on the floor pretty much every match we play no matter who we play. His volleyball IQ is off the charts and for his size you can't say enough about the kid. He's amazing."
Romasoc made a key substitution down the stretch as he called upon freshman Giancarlo Celosia to serve for match point.
"I think our jump serving was a little spotty here and there," Romasoc said. "And, you know, on the opposite end, I don't think they were handling our float serves all that well. But yeah, throwing in Giancarlo was a big opportunity for him. I hadn't called his number all game, you know what I mean? So for him to kind of, when I called his name and number to go out there and just do whatever I needed him to do was really big for us."