The San Marino High boys’ volleyball team met South Pasadena for the first time this season on March 19, with both teams boasting an unbeaten Rio Hondo League record entering the matchup.
Though the league season is still in its early days, there was only one team that would remain without a loss in league play following the Titans clash against the Tigers.
When things had settled, it would be host San Marino as the final team to remain unbeaten in the Rio Hondo League with a sweep of visiting South Pasadena 25-16, 25-20, 25-20.
“This is the level we can play at. This is the potential we have,” San Marino coach Tony Chou said. “We were playing nice. We were playing in our system, so we looked good.”
San Marino (3-0 in league) stayed in control throughout the match to best rival South Pasadena (2-1 in league). For the Titans, ranked No. 3 in CIF Southern Section Division V as of March 26, the win ended a seven-match losing streak to the Tigers.
“We haven’t beaten them in a very long time for our school and it seems really, really great and fun. I had a great time,” Titan setter Jared Wang said of the win. “Everything went very well. Our passing today was very, very good.”
Titan junior Casey Chan led the way with a match-high 13 kills, attacking mainly from the right side but also getting some work in from the left. San Marino junior Luca Moggio did his work in the middle, spearheading the Titan blocking while racking up eight kills. Senior Ryan Wang, operating from the outside on the left, had six kills, while Hunter Piccinini, also attacking from the left on the outside, had four kills.
“Honestly, I think this is the best we have ever played,” Piccinini said. “We were anticipating this match. They are a good team, but we just played our hearts out and we just put them away.”
Titans junior Jared Wang doled out the majority of the assists while also getting two kills. Senior Jeffery Li also had two kills, as did freshman Zach Fong, who also had two aces. Freshman Matt Woo recorded a single kill.
In the Tigers’ first loss in league, junior Jack Pellerin had a team-high eight kills with fellow junior James Dowd getting seven operating in the middle. Jacob Chuang had five kills, Ian Chang two, and Lorcan Swift and Liam Johnson a kill apiece.
“This is just one loss. Everybody is going to have their off times,” South Pasadena coach Ivy Chew said. “This is one of those ones that opens our eyes to see what our weaknesses [are]. It actually may be a benefit to us, maybe not the ending results, but it benefits us to see what we need to continue to work on.”
South Pasadena led briefly in the start of game one before the opener was tied for the final time at 4-4, after which Ryan Wang got a kill from the outside to give the hosts the lead for what turned out to be for good. The Tigers were able to pull within one at 7-6, after which the Titans knocked down three points, starting with a kill from the outside on the right by Chan, then a kill by Ryan Wang from the backline and finally an ace by sophomore Ryan Lee.
The Titan advantage swelled to 10 for the second time in the game with a 4-0 run late. Ryan Wang got consecutive kills, followed by a combo block by Li and Chan and then another kill by Ryan Wang that went off the Tiger block to make it 23-13. South Pasadena scored the next three points before a Tiger service error brought up game point. Chan then finished it off with a kill from the outside off the Tiger block for the win.
In game two, San Marino took the lead for the remainder of the game on an ace by Fong that broke a 4-4 tie. The visitors were as close as one for the final time at 14-13, after which a kill by Chan, a kill down the line by Piccinini and a hitting error by the Tigers prompted a South Pasadena timeout. The advantage peaked at six late, first after a kill in the middle by Li and an ace that landed deep down the line by Jared Wang, and then again two points later after a Tiger service error.
The Tigers took the lead early and were ahead in the third game until the latter stages. The final tie of the game came at 19-19, after which Chan had a kill to the deep part of the Tigers’ side of the court, followed by an ace by Devon Jue that climbed over the tape before finding the floor. The hosts soon after scored the final three points of the contest to seal the match win with a drop shot by Chan, a kill off the block by Ryan Wang and a kill from the outside on the right by Chan.
“They deserved this win,” Chou said of his Titans.
First published in the March 28 issue of the San Marino Tribune
