Story by Leighton Kwok
Staff Writer
Photo by Helena Easterby
Photography Editor
Boys’ volleyball faced Mark Keppel on Thursday, April 9 and took the win with a final score of 3–2. The game was a nail-biter for both sides, with the score tied throughout.
The first set was met with strong offense from the Tigers, with all players beaming with energy and having many strong spikes. Mark Keppel was struggling to keep up defensively, making unsuccessful dives to save the ball. South Pasadena dominated the first set, ending with a score of 25–12.
In the second set, although the Tigers scored the first point, Mark Keppel picked up the pace and scored four consecutive points. The air in the SPHS gym was tense as the game started to amp up. Even though the Aztecs were ahead on the scoreboard, their defense was still evidently sloppy. Playing off of this, sophomore setter Ryan Chang made amazing spikes that allowed South Pasadena to attempt to catch up. Yet, the score gap proved to be too big, as the second set ended with a Mark Keppel win, 25–20.
By the third set, both teams were determined to beat the other. South Pasadena took the lead in the beginning, but Mark Keppel quickly caught up, tallying the score 12–12. The Tigers’ defense started to falter, allowing the Aztecs to take the lead. With the Aztecs’ lead forever looming over, the Tigers initial explosive energy that helped them early on began to waver. Mark Keppel took over the match 2–1.
Both the Tigers and the Aztecs brought their A-game in the fourth set, with the score constantly neck and neck. SPHS juniors middle blocker Angelos Skandallis and outside hitter Liam Johnson teamed up again to create powerful blocks that allowed South Pasadena to win the set and tie the match overall.
With newfound motivation, the Tigers swept the fifth set, and junior outside hitter Luke Liu took the final hit to win 15–8. South Pasadena broke Mark Keppel’s winning streak of eight games, making the Tigers’ record 18–6 overall and 3–2 in league.
Boys’ volleyball next game was away at Monrovia High School on Tuesday, April 14 at 5:30 p.m. against the Monrovia Wildcats, making their sixth league game.