It was the last game of the regular season for the San Marino High boys’ volleyball team and a win would mean the Titans were Rio Hondo League champions.
The title, however, would need to come on the road at the expense of Monrovia, the team sitting at the bottom of the standings.
The host Wildcats were tenacious, but, in the end, the Titans pushed through and came away with a 25-23, 18-25, 25-22, 21-25, 15-9 victory to secure the league championship on April 18.
“It sounds great,” said Titan Casey Chan of being called league champions. “After last year, we all came back hungry and ready to play and we did what we wanted to do. We did what we expected to do from the beginning of the season.”
It was less of a coronation and more of a grind against a determined foe that resulted in a league title.
“I was not satisfied with today’s performance in this game,” Titan junior Luca Moggio said. “I feel our team played a little depressed. I don’t know why. It feels good to win league and I feel like we are going to have a good CIF run. I really just think our team needs to have more confidence when we play.”
With the win, San Marino, ranked No. 4 in the CIF Southern Section Division V, finishes 7-1 in league to match South Pasadena after the Tigers secured their share of the title with a road over Temple City on April 16.
The Rio Hondo League co-champion Titans will begin their CIF Southern Section Division V run with a first-round matchup against Oakwood at home on April 25.
“It’s been a long season and they are still mentally locked in, so I’m excited going forward,” San Marino coach Tony Chou said.
The Titans never trailed in game five. A kill on the outside off the Wildcat block by Ryan Wang and a solo block by Moggio made it a 14-7 lead for San Marino, but Monrovia scored the next two points before Titan freshman Zach Fong secured match point with a kill.
“That last hit felt great,” Fong said. “I was really ready for Luca to kill the ball because Jared [Wang] pulled him all the way over. Then, next thing you know, I see the ball coming up for me, pulled all the blockers my way and I just had to rip it.”
Moggio led the visitors with 12 kills, along with five blocks. Chan finished with 11 kills and nine digs.
“I had a rough game, but I want to thank my teammates for helping me through the entire way. They played their roles really well and picked me up,” Chan said.
Fong stood out in the season finale, tallying nine kills and nine digs. Setter Jared Wang had 41 assists and 11 digs.
“First time I’ve ever been league champ, ever,” Jared Wang said. “First time. It feels great. I think we just pulled through. Our underclassmen, they stepped up passing and everything, serving and hitting. It was great.”
Senior Ryan Wang had seven kills, while fellow senior Jeffery Li had four kills and four blocks. Hunter Piccinini and Thomas Keefer each had a kill apiece. Devon Jue had two of his squad’s five aces.
“It sounds really great and I think everyone is happy about it,” Ryan Wang said of being called league champions. “This is our last game and I think we did all right, I would say, but we’re still really happy with the win.”
Monrovia was led by Jaymes Randall, with 19 kills, and Cody Wu, who had 18 kills and served up three of his team’s 11 aces against the Titans.
“[The Wildcats] were serving tough and it was a serve and serve-receive game,” Chou said. “Everybody that was serving tough was grabbing the lead.”
San Marino took game one despite making seven service errors. The Wildcats led early before a kill in the middle by Li preceded an ace by Jared Wang that climbed the tape and dropped to the floor for the first lead of the match for San Marino at 13-12. The Titans had their first game point at 24-19 before Monrovia launched a 4-0 run capped with an ace. However, the hosts let the Titans off the hook after that with a service error to cede the game to the Titans.
In game two, the Titans led 4-2 after a Fong kill before Wu recorded three straight kills, pushing the Wildcats into a lead that they never gave up. After a kill by Randall brought up game point, a kill in the middle by Moggio prolonged the game, but Randall finished it off with another kill.
In game three, the Wildcats led early, but Moggio made two consecutive blocks to make a one-point deficit into a 13-12 Titan advantage. San Marino never trailed again, and a kill from the backline by Chan gave the visitors the win.
Monrovia had to have game four to stay alive, and the Wildcats got what they needed on a kill by Randall to finish the game.
“In the fourth set and all those sets before, we were a little bit down in the energy, but in the fifth set we brought it all back,” Ryan Wang said.
First published in the April 25 issue of the San Marino Tribune
