Story by Gavin Bartolome & Owen Hou
Staff Writers

Photos by Madeline Madrigal & Mac Shropshire
Staff Photographers

The Tigers seized control over their match against the Blair Vikings, winning 3-0 on Thursday, March 27. The two teams’ coordination played a heavy role in their responses and ability to act on the fly, especially for the Tigers, whose starting lineup included current JV players and underclassmen varsity players. . Despite their untested roster, the Tigers’ JV and varsity clicked, demonstrating skilled teamwork and coordination that granted them the victory. 

“Overall, it went pretty well. I feel like having some JV players that might potentially be on varsity next year will help us with our chemistry,” freshman varsity outside hitter Evan Chang said.

The first set began with the Vikings quickly snatching a two-point lead, only for the Tigers to catch up and shoot ahead after the teams tied 3-3. Despite the presence of less-experienced Tiger JV players, the relentless push of the Tiger offense overwhelmed the Viking defense, and although the Vikings slowly tried to reclaim their lead, they were unable to make up for the gap in scores. With the Vikings never being able to make significant enough progress to catch up, the Tigers won the first set 25-16 after the Vikings failed to return the ball over the net.

Starting the second set with a 2-2 tie, the Tigers and Vikings were once again at each other’s necks in the first moments of the period. However, sophomore middle blocker Angelos Skandallis launched a successful attack, which inched the Tigers ahead 3-2 and began their forward momentum. From there, the Tigers continued to climb due to holes in the Viking defense. 

South Pasadena really started to rally once JV setter Caden Chiu began serving. From there, the Tigers went on to begin an 11-point rally that left the Vikings in shambles, ending at 18-5 with the Tigers in the lead.
The Vikings were unable to pick up the pieces of their defense and lost the second set 25-11 after sophomore outside hitter Luke Liu smashed the ball over the net.

The Vikings took the first couple of points for the third set, leading 2-0, with the Tigers collapsing whenever a drop was made. However, the Tigers soon reignited their spirits, causing long enough rallies for the Vikings to slip up, tying with them and eventually reaching a neutral score of 7-7. The surmounting pressure loaded onto the Vikings eventually gave way in the form of their defense, clearing a path for the Tigers to seize the set.

An ace by junior middle blocker Kyle Kirchen, furthered by a roaring kill into the Vikings’ back half of the court, brought the Tigers ahead by two points at 9-7. Although the Vikings desperately grasped onto the Tigers’ back, several failed passes or out-of-bounds attacks kept them trailing. 

As the Tigers’ explosiveness began to wane, the Vikings were presented with an opportunity to win the set, trailing by only three points at 24-21. Yet, the Vikings’ offense choked at the last moment, hitting the antenna in the last play and giving the Tigers the final point to win the set 25-21 and the match 3-0.

After the Tigers mixed varsity and JV boys’ volleyball, the results showcased in their game against the Vikings shine a hopeful light on the future of SPHS’s team.

The Tigers will have their next home league game against the Temple City Rams on Wednesday, April 9 at 5:30 p.m.