Staff Writer
Photos by Tucker Judkins
The boys’ varsity volleyball team fell to the Temple City rams away on Thursday, April 28. South Pas fell in the first set by a score of 25-18 but would even the series by winning the second set with a score of 25-17. The Rams would shut out South Pas in the next two set, clinching the game with scores of 25-23 and 27-25.
Temple City immediately claimed a 10-5 with the help of lockdown defense against senior captain Greg Luck, blocking most of his spikes in the first set. South Pas would be forced to call a timeout with the score being 14-7. This would have no effect on the Rams as the Temple City blockers further hampered Lucks hitting on the court. The Rams would stretch the lead to 19-10 later in the set. The Tigers attempted a comeback with the help of senior Max Luck, but by that time it was too little and too late to make any difference. Temple City would close out the set with a score of 25-18.
The Rams continued to ride its momentum built up from the previous set and took a quick 5-1 lead heading into the second set. Senior Matthew Ng helped generate the Tigers offense with two kills alongside junior Joseph Bu who chalked up two back-to-back aces and helped South Pas take the lead at 7-5. Junior Gunther Vaden slammed down a kill of his own the next possession to intensify the South Pas offense, allowing the Tigers to regain their offensive foothold. Senior Scott Kawakami maintained the team’s momentum with two aces a few possessions later, forcing a Rams timeout. Vaden and junior Matt Scholtz provided quality playing time for the Tigers with both scoring multiple kills in the set. G. Luck would end the set with an ace for a final score of 25-17 and tying the series at 1-1.
The third set began with points going back and forth between the two teams. The Tigers would take a slight lead after a block from M. Luck gave South Pas a 9-8 lead. Junior Lucas Fox would distance the score to 16-13 later in the set after scoring a kill down the middle of the Rams court. Temple City would pull off a comeback and tie the game at 22-22 with the Rams taking the initiative. Temple City would close off the set after scoring kills on the Tigers side of the court for a score of 25-23.
The Tigers were slow to react starting in the fourth set. An early Rams scoring frenzy put the score at 8-4 with South Pas down. The Tigers managed to close the gap between the two teams when an ace from Kawakami put the score at 11-10 with South Pas down. Scholtz would help the Tigers tie the score at 17-17 later in the set. This would be erased however when a Rams 3-0 run put the game out of reach for the visiting team. Clutch performances from G. Luck would bring the Tigers back into the game with the score at 23-22 with South Pas up. Temple City would score the next possessions to put the game in their favor at 26-25. The Rams would manage to cap off the game with one final point for a 27-25 win for Temple City.
With this loss, South Pas ends Rio Hondo League with a 6-2 record. La Cañada currently holds a record of 6-1 with one game left in league scheduled for Tuesday. This game will decide if South Pas ties for first place or takes second place in RHL.
The Tigers’ next game will be in the Crescenta Valley Tournament on Saturday, April 30 at Crescenta Valley High School.
