The San Marino High boys’ volleyball team took a break from Rio Hondo League action, where the Titans are still undefeated, to welcome Mark Keppel for a nonleague match looking to maintain momentum riding an eight-match winning streak.
Against the Aztecs, the Titans played a little fast and loose at times, allowing the visitors to stick around.
However, San Marino stayed composed to complete the sweep of Mark Keppel, 25-21, 25-11, 29-27, in a nonleague win April 2.
“I think today wasn’t the best volleyball we’ve played, but we certainly pulled through and got the win,” Titan Ryan Wang said.
The win was extra special for the senior Wang because it came on his 18th birthday.
“It was really fun I guess, playing my favorite sport on my birthday, which is amazing,” Wang said.
The third game saw Keppel consistently in the lead following the early stages and keeping a four-point advantage into the latter part of the set, leading as late as 21-17.
San Marino then went on a 6-0 run, starting with an Aztec service error, then a kill from the outside by Casey Chan. Consecutive aces served up by Sebastian Liong followed, with a kill from the outside by Hunter Piccinini and a Keppel mishit thereafter.
The offensive spurt continued when Piccinini ended a long rally with a kill from the outside to bring up match point at 24-22. The next point went to Mark Keppel with San Marino hitting into the net and bringing up a second match point. The Titans then watched the ensuing Aztecs service land inbounds deep on their side of the court for an ace to tie the game.
The hosts saw another match point go by before the visitors got a chance for the win after a Titan hit sailed long, giving the Aztecs a 26-25 edge. A Mark Keppel hitting error tied the game again, but a violation at the net gave Mark Keppel another game point at 27-26. Titan Luca Moggio then stepped in to end things with back-to-back kills in the middle, leading to another match point. The game ended as the next point went to the home team when the Aztecs hit the ball out to seal the Titan win.
“I think that third set really showed our flaws,” Moggio said. “We weren’t really putting the ball away. Sometimes there was some struggle on serve receive and we missed a few serves.”
The Titans were led in kills by Chan. In a recent development, the junior has been seeing a lot of action playing in the back row.
“It’s good. I like hitting the deep ball,” Chan said.
Moggio was dominant on the block and had nine kills. Piccinini, Ryan Wang and freshman Zach Fong had four kills apiece. Jared Wang did the majority of the setting and had two kills. Matt Woo and Jeffery Li each had a single kill.
“It wasn’t our best volleyball we’ve ever played, but it was still pretty good,” Moggio said. “It got the job done. We got to play some new players [and] try some new rotations, so I think today was overall a success.”
Mark Keppel (10-6, 6-0 in Almont League) stayed in reach throughout game one, with the Titan advantage maxing out at six. After two tries at game point, Moggio got a kill in the middle to claim the opener.
In the second game, San Marino was never threatened by Mark Keppel. After scoring the first three points, the Titans cushion ballooned to double digits for the first time at 13-3 following consecutive kills by Ryan Wang. The lead peaked at 15 and the game came to an end on a Mark Keppel service error to set the final margin of 14.
“The first set we were still warming up, but in the second set we blew them away,” Chan said. “The third set we got too comfortable and that is when they started coming back. That’s why it was a close game at the end.”
SAN MARINO 3, TEMPLE CITY 0
A more focused Titans squad got back to the business of staying unbeaten in league action on April 4, hosting Rio Hondo foe Temple City.
San Marino promptly swept the visiting Rams, 25-18, 25-19, 25-14, for the Titans’ sixth win in as many matches in Rio Hondo League play.
“I think this was a lot better [than versus Mark Keppel],” said Moggio following the league match against the Rams. “We had a lot more energy today. We really wanted it. I think it stems from TC talking a lot of smack during our last game and we didn’t like that, so I think that is why we came out playing so hard today.”
In their first matchup of the season on March 14, the Titans and Rams went the distance in a five-match victory on the road for San Marino. The Titans boast an unbeaten 6-0 league record and 20-5-1 overall mark.
Game one ended with a kill from the outside by Chan. Game two was tied at 19-19 before the Titans finished it with a 6-0 run, culminating with a kill on the outside by Chan attacking from the back row for game point.
In game three, an ace by Liong brought up game point and a block by Li cemented the Titan victory.
“Our middle connection was really, really good,” Jared Wang said. “We just kept slamming middle balls and it was really nice.”
The Titans, ranked No. 3 in the CIF Southern Section Division V, have now won 10 straight matches.
Both the matches against Mark Keppel and Temple City were played without head coach Tony Chou, who was away traveling internationally. Assistant coach Hanna Wang stepped in as head coach in his stead.
First published in the April 11 issue of the San Marino Tribune
