CHATSWORTH — The boys volleyball regular season is slowly winding down and top teams are beginning to look ahead to what’s next in the CIF Los Angeles City Section playoffs.
For Chatsworth, the first step was to take down Granada Hills Charter.
The Chancellors got some sweet revenge against the Highlanders, as they swept Wednesday’s match in three sets, 25-22, 25-19, 25-21.
The Highlanders handed the Chancellors their first league loss since 2019 on March 18 in a five-set match, but now Chatsworth (6-1 in league) has a strong grip on first place in the West Valley League. Granada Hills dropped to 5-2 in league.
“The biggest difference is Chatsworth’s ability to side out. They’re very tough,” said Highlanders head coach Tom Harp. “We each only had one loss and it was a tough battle between two first-place teams. Now we just have to regroup for Monday, test our character a little bit, and see if we can rebound and reset.”
Out here at Chatsworth High School as the Chatsworth Chancellors boys volleyball team gets ready to take on the Granada Hills Charter Highlanders in a highly touted West Valley League matchup. Game set to begin in about 15 minutes pic.twitter.com/dmuMBNmoho
— Ryan Menzie (@MenzieReporter) April 10, 2024
It was clear early in the match that there wasn’t going to be an easy winner. The teams were tied at 17 in the first set.
The Chancellors put together a small run for a 20-17 lead and went on to win the set 25-22.
“The team looked more prepared than the last time we played them,” said Chancellors head coach Sina Aghassy. “Granada is a senior-heavy team and took it to us at their place. Today we wanted to show up prepared. Feed our older guys like Justin Dickson. (Dickson) and Nate (Kim) had great games today.”
Nate Yu led the Highlanders with nine kills and Andrew Nguyen added eight kills.
The efforts from Yu and Nguyen kept it close at the beginning of the second set, but the Chancellors’ quickly built a 20-13 lead with their execution and defense. The Highlanders tried to answer back and closed within three points, but the Chancellors held on to win the set 25-19 for a 2-0 lead.
There was no stopping the Chancellors in the third set, who were led by Dickson, the team’s senior middle blocker and team captain. He had a match-high 15 kills and four blocks.
Dickson’s efforts helped catapult the Chancellors to another down-to-the-wire victory in the third set, 25-21, to finish the match.
“Our passing was really good and our setting was consistent. That’s what we’ve been working on,” said Dickson. “We got some of the best middles in the City. I don’t think there’s anyone who can compete with us, but of course, you can’t get a good set without a good pass.
“The goal is to win the City championship. Winning league isn’t a massive goal, but if we’re going to win the City championship, we’re going to have to win league.”
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