The La Jolla Viking men’s volleyball team came up just short of making an appearance in the championship game of the 10th annual Beach City Invitational at La Jolla last weekend. “We wouldn’t have made it as far as we did if we hadn’t come back to win our first match,” said Viking coach Dave Jones. As it turned out, La Jolla (7-1) made it all the way to the semifinals of the Gold Division before suffering a tough two-game loss at the hands of the Aliso Niguel Wolverines of Viejo. “We were seeded fourth, which was a great place for us to be,” Jones said. In the 25-17, 25-16 loss to Aliso Niguel, the Vikings were led by 6-foot senior Kyle Gutstadt (five kills, six digs), 6-foot-2 junior Blake Chadwick (five kills, five digs), 6-foot-5 senior Jack Latta (two kills, two blocks), 6-foot-2 senior Max Greenberg (15 assists, two blocks, two digs), 6-foot senior John Walsh (11 digs), 5-foot-6 senior Jake Shwisberg (five digs), and 6-foot-3 senior Matt Palatella (four digs). “A tournament like this will help our team come together as the season goes along,” Jones said. La Jolla already showed signs of coming together with wins over the Silverado Skyhawks (Las Vegas, Nev.), Sanger Apaches (Sanger, Calif.), Temecula Prep Patriots (Winchester, Calif.), Bonanza Bengals (Las Vegas, Nev.), and Clairemont Chieftans earlier in the tournament. “The match with Silverado was a little scary until we pushed our way through,” Jones said. In the 25-22, 25-18 victory over the Skyhawks, the Vikings were led by Gutstadt (four kills, six digs), Latta (four kills), Chadwick (three kills, 11 digs), Palatella (two kills, two blocks), Greenberg (19 assists, two digs), Walsh (14 digs), Shwisberg (two digs), 6-foot-3 senior Taylor Davis (four kills), 6-foot-1 senior Pierce Poynter (two kills), and 5-foot-9 junior Jack Ready (two digs). “We lost our first game 25-23 against Clairemont,” Jones said. “But, we came back to win the next two (25-19, 15-9) to win the match. If we had lost, we wouldn’t have got into the Gold Division.” In the victory over the Clairemont Chieftans, the Vikings were led by Latta (6 kills, 3 blocks), Gutstadt (6 kills, 8 digs), Davis (5 kills), Chadwick (4 kills, 3 blocks, 3 digs), Palatella (4 kills), Greenberg (24 assists, 3 digs), and Walsh (12 digs). “Against Clairemont, we came out a little bit complacent,” Jones said. “But, we regrouped and responded.” Chadwick, Walsh, and Palatella, were all named to the All-Tournament team for La Jolla.