BY TED APODACA: It took three close sets and avoidance of giving away a big lead, but the La Quinta High boys volleyball team held off Katella, 25-23, 25-22, 29-27, in a non-league match last week at La Quinta High.
The Aztecs are looking to improve upon a third-place finish in the Garden Grove last year, and a first round loss in the CIF-SS playoffs. The win over Katella might have been indicative of the grit this year’s Aztec team has.
“I think they have a lot of fight in them,” Aztec coach David Tran said.
BY TED APODACA: It took three close sets and avoidance of giving away a big lead, but the La Quinta High boys volleyball team held off Katella, 25-23, 25-22, 29-27, in a non-league match last week at La Quinta High.
The Aztecs are looking to improve upon a third-place finish in the Garden Grove last year, and a first round loss in the CIF-SS playoffs. The win over Katella might have been indicative of the grit this year’s Aztec team has.
“I think they have a lot of fight in them,” Aztec coach David Tran said.
Katella was the second-place team out of the Orange League last year, going 17-7 overall. They’re a solid team with some experienced leadership, so Tran was encouraged by his team’s ability to focus and make plays when needed.
After the first two close sets, the Aztecs looked like they might run away with the third game.
After trailing 4-3 early in the set, the Aztecs rolled off eight consecutive points to grab an 11-4 lead. But Katella regrouped and began to chip away at the lead. They closed the gap to 15-12 with a 3-0 run before the Aztecs responded. Brandon Nguyen had a kill off a tip to push the lead back to 16-12.
However, each time the Aztecs pulled away, Katella responded to keep the match close. They closed the gap to 21-20 on a hit into the net by La Quinta. The Aztecs took a 23-21 lead on a kill from the left side to the back line by Shannan Hua and later got to match point, 24-22 when a tap attempt over the defense by Katella went long.
But the Aztecs could not close it out, as the Knights scored three consecutive points to get to set point, 25-24. Hua tied the set at 25-25 with a kill off a block attempt. With the set tied 27-27, Justin Do caught Katella off guard with a second hit tapper to the middle of the court. Nguyen followed that with another placed tip shot that fell in the middle of the Katella defense to end the match.
“I thought we passed really well and served really well,” Tran said.
Tran said the win over a quality Katella team is a good early step for his young team and gives them a gauge of how competitive they can be against playoff caliber teams.
Hua should continue to lead the Aztec attack, while senior setter Justin Do gives them stability in the passing game. Junior libero Anton Ta will solidify the Aztec back row defense.
The Aztecs have a tough road match at Ocean View on March 22.
