Hamlet Nalbandyan
LA CANADA HIGH -- There are times when the La Canada High boys'
volleyball team looks like a well-tuned machine, where its able to
compete with just about most teams. Then, there are other times where the
look on Coach Kevin Boyke's face says it all.
The Spartans had one of those days Wednesday against Mark Keppel High,
and even though they won, 15-11, 15-11, 13-15, 15-13, the performance
they gave was less than impressive.
"We're an up and down team, there's no question about it," Boyke said.
"There are times where when we're hitting the ball great and doing
everything right. Then, we'll make like six unforced errors in a row. I
can't explain it."
Keppel came in with a 5-0 record, but La Canada was clearly the better
team with two players at 6-feet-5. Still, 17 errors in the first game
kept the Aztecs in it as Keppel led, 10-7, before La Canada got rolling.
The Spartans got back into thanks to the performance of junior James
Pickett, as he had five kills in the first game, leading La Canada on a
8-1 run to win the game.
The Spartans (4-2) continued that momentum into the second game,
opening with a 7-0 run and leading 12-3.
But then the errors came back to haunt La Canada, which committed 51
errors in the match. Keppel went on a 8-0 run to make the score, 12-11.
The Spartans committed 10 errors during the run.
Finally, after Boyke called a timeout, the Spartans got their game
back as Nick Penido got a sideout with a kill, Pickett got two kills and
Timmy Lee ended the game with a one of his 17 kills in the match.
Lee and Pickett tied for the match lead in kills. The two had big
performances thanks to the improved play of junior setter William Kim.
Kim had 45 assists.
"He's gotten a lot better, and that all comes with practice.," Boyke
said of Kim.
Keppel opened the third game with a 6-0 run and led 8-3 before La
Canada got back into it. The Spartans made the score, 9-8, but again fell
into the habit of committing errors. Three errors led to a 4-0 run by the
Aztecs and a 13-8 lead, but La Canada, after a timeout, again made a game
of it.
The Spartans went on a 5-1 run to make the score, 14-13, but
back-to-back errors gave the game to Keppel.
La Canada opened the third game on a 5-1 run but Keppel followed with
a 12-0 run to lead, 13-5. The last nine points during the run came behind
the serves of Kya Ma, who also had seven kills and two assists.
This run forced Boyke to call yet another timeout, but this time he
wasn't his usual mild-mannered self.
"I tried telling them what to do, and when that doesn't work, all I'm
left with is screaming at them and threatening them with running
afterward. Maybe next time, I'll start with that," Boyke said.
Boyke's talk worked as La Canada finished the game with a 10-0 run.
Lee came up big with five kills during the run.
La Canada next faces Crescenta Valley on the road Friday at 7 p.m. The
match will be special for Boyke, as he played on the varsity team for CV
Coach John Nelson for two years and served as an assistant for four
years.
