Photo by Alicia Alderete
Photography Editor
The Tigers defeated the La Salle Lancers 3 sets to 1 in their third game of preseason at home on Tuesday night after 4 hard-fought sets. South Pas lost the first set 25-19, but then came back to win the final three sets by scores of 25-13, 25-21, and 25-22.
At the beginning of the first set, the Tigers struggled to dig the Lancers hits. With a bit of confusion on receiving serves, the Lancers were able to sink many hits onto the Tigers’ side of the court. However, senior libero Addison Hsiao and sophomore Colin Sheng were able to lead a comeback with passes to junior setter Tyler Lieu. Lieu assisted senior Jason Barrientos, who scored the majority of the points for the Tigers in the first set, along with senior Paul Pan. Unfortunately, this was not enough to win the first set, and the Tigers lost 25-19.
The Tigers’ difficulties scoring against the Lancers did not continue to the second set. Lieu continued to set Barrientos, who got numerous kills for the Tigers. Dylan Schreibfeder blocked many of the Lancers’ attempted hits, and also gained the Tigers’ points with tips at the net. Hsiao and Sheng also worked hard throughout the set to dig balls, leading South Pas to a 25-13 win.
The third set came down to the wire between the Tigers and Lancers. Pan proved to be the most valuable player of the set, as he not only made numerous passes during serve receive, but he scored most of the points for Tigers with his hard hitting. Pan was unstoppable, but the Lancers put up a strong fight to keep the game close down to the final few points. Senior Evan Chee also pitched in for the Tigers, as he consistently blocked the Lancers and made some kills. The set ended with a win for Tigers, 25-21.
The fourth set was back and forth between the Tigers and Lancers; almost every other point went to the opposite team. Lieu gave perfect sets to senior Scott Ishikawa, who got over 5 kills in a row, but the Lancers refused to back down. Sheng saved the Tigers multiple points by digging tough balls, and Hsiao repeatedly made crisp passes to Lieu. At the end of a tightly contested set, sophomore Amari Latham won the game point for Tigers with a crucial kill. The Tigers won the fourth set 25-22, taking the entire game.
Up next:
The Tigers play Schurr at home at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5.
