Southern Section 3-A Volleyball Playoffs : La Quinta Surprises Los Altos to Score Victory

Craig Frisby had 24 kills and Tom Potwora added 14 kills and 22 stuff blocks Tuesday to lead unseeded La Quinta High School to an 11-15, 15-10, 15-7, 15-10 upset victory over second-seeded Los Altos in the Southern Section 3-A volleyball quarterfinals at La Quinta.

La Quinta (16-4), which has 16 straight victories, also had 54 assists from Bryan Petersen.

“We’ve been the best-kept secret in 3-A volleyball this year,” said La Quinta Coach Larry James, whose team will play Glendale in Thursday’s semifinals.

Los Altos (16-1) started quickly, taking a 3-0 lead in the first game behind Willie Reid’s two spikes for points and Lantz Allen’s spike.

La Quinta rallied to take a 9-5 lead, but Los Altos used its hitting to eventually tie the score, 11-11. It then scored four straight points to win its only game.

David Han had three kills as Los Altos took a 3-0 lead in the second game. The Aztecs, however, took advantage of a series of Los Altos hitting errors to gain a 7-3 lead and control of the match. La Quinta, which got six kills from Tony Price and nine stuff blocks from Potwora, extended its lead to 14-6 before Los Altos rallied to make it 14-10. Still, the Aztecs held on for the victory.

La Quinta took a 9-2 lead in the third game and were never headed as Frisby had five kills. Los Altos, which never led, tied the score at seven before La Quinta scored eight straight points to win.

In the fourth game, Los Altos used three kills and a service ace from Han, a member of the South Korean junior national team, to take a 7-2 lead before La Quinta called a timeout.

La Quinta rallied behind the blocking and spiking of Potwora and Frisby to tie the score at 8-8. Los Altos took a 9-8 lead and then a 10-9 lead before La Quinta scored five unanswered points to win the match.