Nitros lose heated match

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — Glendale High boys' volleyball Coach Ta'ase Mose was clearly frustrated after his team's latest loss Friday afternoon.

Refusing to comment after the contest, and instead let his captain do the post-game interview, Mose witnessed a 25-17, 25-9, 25-11 shellacking at the hands of Claremont, who dominated all facets of the league match at Glendale High.

"They're a good team, but I thought we could have won a game if we passed better," said Glendale senior outside hitter and captain Regan Ornopia after the team's second Pacific League loss in as many matches.

Claremont (11-4, 2-0), the defending Pacific League co-champions, relied on its service game to set the tone, and succeeded in doing so with five aces in a first set in which the Wolfpack scored 14 of the first 16 points and never trailed.

The Nitros (3-4, 0-2) picked up the pace and energy, resulting in a late run that cut an 18-5 deficit down to 23-14, but it was too little, too late for an overwhelmed Glendale team that traded the first six points of the second set with Claremont before giving up 13 of the next 17 en route to putting up their lowest score of the match.

The second set saw three of the four tie scores in the match, with Glendale holding one lead thanks to a Wolfpack service error during the first point of the third and what would become the final set.

"We struggled serving against CV," said Wolfpack Coach Bernie Wendling, whose team swept the Falcons on Wednesday. "Our service game was more focused today and gave a better effort."

The Wolfpack finished the match with 12 aces — three of the five in the second set coming in a seven-point stretch that separated the two teams, as Glendale wouldn't come closer than five the rest of the way.

In the third game, the Nitros kept it close early again but eventually faltered, this time giving up seven straight points that extended a 5-3 Claremont advantage to a comfortable 11-3 cushion.

During the late stages of the set, Glendale's Edwin Sepanosian received an unsportsmanlike misconduct warning after kicking the ball to the rafters in reaction to a Claremont kill.

Mose showed his discontent with the umpire at the conclusion of a match and the two engaged in a shouting match.

"We need to work on our servicing, and we definitely have a lot of work to do," Ornopia said. "Last year we were destroyed [by Claremont]. This year I thought we were a little better. Next time, I hope we come out on top."

The Nitros will look to turn the season around as they travel to Crescenta Valley on Wednesday for a league meeting.