Rally delivers three-game win for Private volleyball squad in 2012 All-Star affair

PASADENA — It started out as a friendly exhibition, but the competitive nature of both squads intensified with every point Saturday in the 2012 San Gabriel Valley Public vs. Private All-Star Underclassmen Boys' Volleyball match at Caltech.

The Private School squad, which included players from St. Francis High, Flintridge Prep, Pasadena Poly and La Salle, rallied from behind on several occasions for a three-game victory, 24-26, 25-21, 15-8, over a Public School team that featured locals from Burroughs, La Cañada, San Marino and South Pasadena.

St. Francis setter Christopher Thompson and Burroughs opposite Daniel Jacobs both earned MVP honors for their respective squads.

"It's a great opportunity," said Thompson, who had an all-around day with nine assists, four kills, two digs and two aces, of the match. "I know a lot of these guys on both teams from club and it was a great opportunity to come out and play with them. It's an amazing experience being able to play with such a high level of guys."

Neither team was satisfied with simply being there, though.

"Maybe it's the Public vs. Private School rivalry or the fact that a lot of these guys know each other, but everyone really wanted to win," said Jacobs, who provided some of the most powerful kills of the day as he finished tied for a match-high in kills with the Golden Knights' Charles McCarthy (four digs, two aces) with seven and a block. "Both teams played hard, but I think [the Private School team] wanted it more."

The Public School squad was in control in the first game, as it maintained a four-point cushion for most of the contest, but down, 20-17, the Private School squad used a 5-1 run — highlighted by two Public errors, a Thompson kill and an ace from Loyola's Garrett Mohr — to take its first lead of the game, 22-21.

Both squads traded points, as the Public team knotted the game at 24 on a Private School hitting error. A kill from Gabrielino's Andy Yu gave Public a one-point lead and South Pasadena's Robert Adamson delivered the victory when he stuffed a kill attempt from McCarthy for the win.

It was truly a game of runs in the second set, as the Private team used a 6-0 run to take a 9-7 lead before things quickly turned into a 14-9 deficit with a 7-0 Public Schools spurt.