It wasn't because of the loss, and it wasn't because they finished in third place in the rugged preseason tournament. No, it was because of an important victory over Bellarmine in pool play.

The Chargers had opened the tourney by beating Harbor 25-13, 25-18, then outlasting San Lorenzo Valley 21-25, 25-23, 15-11 behind a 15-kill match by Scott Lucas.

That set up an all-important pool play match against Bellarmine, the defending Central Coast Section champion. The Chargers pulled out a victory in three games, marking "the first time in program history" that Leland has beaten Bellarmine, said coach Jason Hilbert.

It wasn't easy. The Bells won the first game 25-17, but senior setter Boris Sanchez sparked Leland to a tight 25-23 win in game No. 2.

That set up the all-important tiebreaker in game No. 3. And Leland was up to the task.

"Game 3 was not close," said Hilbert of Leland's 15-7 win over the Bells in the deciding game. The coach praised the blocking of Andrew Atmeh and the passing of Alex Moon in the final game.

After a 3-0 showing in pool play, the Chargers lost a tough 13-25, 25-16, 15-12 decision to Homestead to wind up in third place overall in the tourney.

Lucas finished the Spring Fling with 35 kills and four aces. Atmeh led the Chargers with five blocks, and Moon had 11 digs.

"It was a great finish for us," said Hilbert. "We showed that we can

play with some of the best teams in CCS and that we have a tremendous amount of potential in this 2006 campaign."

Lucas will lead the Chargers into the season. The 6-foot-3 senior returns for his third varsity campaign at Leland after winning the Junior of the Year award last spring in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.

Seniors Sanchez and Kevin Kashanian and junior Charles Lim are returning starters for the Chargers and Moon, Atmeh and Kenny Tran are varsity veterans back for another year.

Junior Daniel Ortiz and sophomore Seth Anderson are newcomers expected to start this spring.

"We have the most club players of any team in the league and probably have the deepest bench in the league," said Hilbert, who returns for his fifth varsity season at Leland. "We will struggle early due to a couple of players being academically ineligible until March 17 when the new grading period ends."

Leland opened the season with a tough 25-18, 25-20, 23-25, 26-24 loss to St. Francis. Lucas led the Chargers with 21 kills.

The Chargers were to take a 3-2 season record into the Mt. Hamilton Division season this week. Leland, the defending league champion, was to open at Prospect and will host Branham on March 9, 7 p.m.

"We are attempting to use a faster, more complicated and diverse offensive system because we are tall and experienced," added the coach, who rates Branham and Willow Glen as title favorites along with his own Chargers.

"It should be a strong league season," he said.

Mustangs lose three

It's been a rocky start for the boys volleyball team at Pioneer. The Mustangs have lost three matches to open the 2006 season, the third coming in their Mt. Hamilton Division opener.

Taylor Luebkeman knocked five shots to the floor, but the Mustangs lost 25-9, 25-11, 25-12 to Leigh to open league play.

Luebkeman had an impressive 17 kills, but Pioneer lost a 23-25, 25-15, 18-25, 25-19, 16-14 heartbreaker to Harker School in a non-league match last week.

The Mustangs had opened the year with a 25-19, 25-16, 25-12 loss to Saratoga.

Pioneer faced a league bye on Tuesday but will be back on the floor gunning for its first win of the season on March 9. The Mustangs host Gunderson at 7 p.m. The following Tuesday, March 14, Pioneer hosts Leland at 7 p.m.