BOYS' VOLLEYBALL: SMBC WIN HAS PLENTY OF SYNERGY.

Byline: SEAN CEGLINSKY Staff Writer

Santa Monica Beach Club might have lost to Santa Clarita Synergy three times in fourmeetings during the seven-month qualifying period leading up to the U.S. Junior Olympic Boys' Volleyball Championships.

But SMBC recorded the most impressive victory in the series between the Southern California powers when it mattered most Thursday at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

SMBC, with a roster comprised of nine area players, defeated rival Synergy 25-21, 25-21 in an 18-under Open Division pool-play match en route to finishing the second day of competition unbeaten in the 36-team tournament.

Led by Cole Reinholm (Thousand Oaks/UC Irvine) and Joey Zuziak (Westlake), SMBC closed out Thursday's schedule with sweeps of New York's Eden Mizuno and Illinois' Rolling Thunder Blue to join Synergy in the top 12 and remain in contention for a national championship.

``We've seen Synergy plenty of times in the past and they're a tough team,'' said SMBC coach Beau Daniels, whose team finished third in the final Southern California Volleyball Association 18-under rankings, one spot behind Synergy.

Synergy -- led by Valencia graduates Teddy Goetz and Kevin Ker (both headed to UCLA), and La Canada graduate Mike Gaudino (Cal State Northridge) -- defeated SMBC in qualifying tournaments in December and January, and again June 17 in one of SCVA's final tune-up events.

Before Thursday, SMBC recorded its lone win Jan. 16 with a 25-22, 22-25, 15-10 victory in the final of the SCVA Boys' Invitational in Anaheim.

In the 16-under Open Division, SMBC and Synergy both won two of three matches Thursday to improve to 5-1.

The teams need to finish among the top two in their three-team pools today to advance to Saturday's Gold Division quarterfinals and have a shot at winning a national title.

Erik Boal contributed.