Palihi Volleyball Prevails in City Semifinals

Now that's more like it.

After having struggled throughout its four-set quarterfinal victory over Carson, the Palisades High boys volleyball team showed just how good it can be when clicking on all cylinders Tuesday night, sweeping Sun Valley Poly out of the City Section Division I playoffs, 25-20, 25-23, 25-10, and advancing to Saturday's final at 5 p.m. at Venice High.

The second-seeded Dolphins (24-5-2) were sharper and executed their offense with crisp passing and a balanced attack that kept third-seeded Poly (30-14) guessing where it would be hit next.

Alex Frapech had 12 kills, Conor Nasch had nine kills and five aces, Grant Pugatch had eight kills, Denton Van Duzer had 20 digs and setter Jack Scharf had 69 assists for Palisades.

Poly dropped the second game after losing a point when a server didn't release the ball within five seconds after the referee blew his whistle and by the middle of the third set, Palisades had the Parrots practically eating out of its hand.

"Palisades is very strong," Poly Coach Gabby Gallardo said. "We had won all of our best-of-five matches but we knew coming here was going to be very tough. Their girls team beat us in the finals so we know about their program."

Granada Hills made short work of fourth-seeded Narbonne, 25-15, 25-19, 25-21, in Tuesday's other semifinal. The top-seeded Highlanders (20-3) beat Palisades in four sets March 7, but the Dolphins are fully healthy and vastly improved since then.

The final was originally schedule to be played downtown at Roybal Learning Center but was moved to Venice High because of water damage to the gym floor at Roybal.

The site change could be an advantage for Palisades, not merely in proximity but familiarity. After all, the Dolphins travel to Venice every year in Western League play and have beaten their rivals the last two seasons in the Gondoliers' gym. 

Granada Hills is vying for its seventh section title and is making its fourth trip to the finals in the last six seasons. Palisades is gunning for its 12th City crown and first since 2008 when the Dolphins beat El Camino Real in five sets. Both schools are trying to complete sweeps of the boys and girls titles, as the Highlanders won the Division I girls title and Palisades won the Division II girls title in the fall.

"For Granada [Hills], we need to jump serve well, pass well and take them "out of system,'" Palihi Coach Chris Forest said. "Granada has a solid team and we simply have to outplay them."

To view more images of Tuesday's semifinal match, please visit photographer Chuck Cohen's website: www.chuckcohenphotography.com.