City Section Volleyball Playoffs : Passing Game Propels Chatsworth in Opener

Volleyball used to be such a simple game. After pulling out the croquet wires and putting Rover inside the house, someone would spike the ball and a point would be made for mom’s team while dad started the barbecue.

But the Chatsworth High volleyball team has moved volleyball out of the back yard and onto the sports pages. Chancellors don’t hit volleyballs, they make “perfect passes.” And they don’t take much notice of the big guys in the front row who do the spiking.

Take, for example, Wednesday’s victory over Hamilton in the first round of the 4-A playoffs at Chatsworth. The Chancellors won, 15-9, 15-5, 15-3, and five of their players had six or more kills.

“Our hitting was good, which means our setting was good,” Coach Steve Berk said.

“The team is not one person,” middle hitter Mike Millett added. “When our offense is working in the middle, the outside is working. And when the outside is working, the middle is working, too.”

For the record, Millett was the best Chatsworth hitter against Hamilton. A 6-foot-3 junior, Millett had a team-high 11 kills and 10 blocks. Middle blocker John Ross had nine kills and six blocks and outside hitter Greg Weaver added 10 kills and five blocks.

Larry Fernandez led the Chancellors with six “perfect passes”-- a statistic invented by Berk.

Chatsworth (15-1), which won its eighth consecutive West Valley League title this season, will play the winner of the Taft-Westchester match Tuesday in a semifinal meeting. The Chancellors have been in four consecutive championships.