Last Thursday in the City Section quarterfinals, the top-seeded Palisades High boys volleyball team found itself in a most unusual position: a decisive fifth game. For a team that was barely tested in Western League play, the Dolphins had to push hard in order to finally overcome Van Nuys.
Down two sets to one, PaliHi rallied to earn a 26-24, 26-28, 25-27, 25-16, 15-13 victory and advance to the semifinals.
“It was really our first competitive game [in a while],” senior libero and team co-captain Matt Comisar said. “We kind of got a wake up call because there wasn’t much pressure up to that point, but we realized we can be beaten at any point and we can’t just go through the motions. We have to start competing at a high level.”
The Dolphins (27-7 overall, 12-0 league) had some quality wins in non-league games this season, but their league schedule didn’t allow them to properly gauge their strength. On Tuesday night this week (after the Palisadian-Post’s press deadline), they had ample opportunity when they hosted No. 5 seed San Pedro.
Comisar, who will attend Southern Methodist University in Texas this fall and play club volleyball, is one of four starting seniors on a team looking to repeat as City champions, joining fellow co-captain outside hitter Grant Pugatch and middle blockers Emmet Power and Max Reinhardt.
Last season, the Dolphins knocked off perennial City power Granada Hills in the finals, then began this season by scoring a hard-fought 3-1 victory against the Highlanders. If the seedings hold up, these two teams will reunite in Saturday’s championship match at Roybal Learning Center at 5 p.m. Granada Hills, the No. 2 seed, played No. 3 Taft on Tuesday.
Under first-year head coach Randy Stoklos, many transitions from previous head coach Chris Forrest have been smooth.
“It’s interesting seeing the point of view of Randy, coming from his successful background on the beach,” Comisar said. “At first we were doing some tricky stuff, but for the most part things have been similar with the coaches.”
Stoklos picked up where Forrest left off, especially in an up-and-down Western League. Venice and University had quality seasons at 9-3, but PaliHi was downright dominant, winning nine of its 12 league matches via shutout.
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