Boys’ volleyball: Izuchukwu rises to the occasion for Palisades

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It’s no surprise that with the City Championship on the line in the fifth game Saturday night, Palisades setter Scott Vegas looked for Kene Izuchukwu. And Izuchukwu delivered every time.

The Dolphins’ sophomore hitter was 19 for 19 on his kill attempts in Palisades’ five-game triumph over El Camino Real -- a stat so staggering that Palisades Coach Chris Forrest had to go over the scoresheet twice to verify its accuracy.

‘That’s pretty incredible in a championship game,’ Forrest said. ‘And we needed every one of those points he got us.’

Izuchukwu is the highest jumper on the Dolphins’ team and his ability to seemingly float in air allows him to spike balls from well back of the net. He also has an uncanny ability to read where defenders are playing and either float the ball over them or angle it past them.

‘Kene was unbelievable tonight,’ Vegas said. ‘We went to him when it counted and he came through for us. He stepped it up big time, but that’s what’s so great about our team. We have a lot of weapons.’

-- Steve Galluzzo