Granada Hills Puts Up Fight but Falls in Final

Say this for the Granada Hills High boys’ volleyball team: the Highlanders stared into the abyss twice at the City Section 4-A Division championship and didn’t flinch.

They didn’t win, but they did not go gently into that good night, mounting two comebacks against powerful University before falling, 15-11, 15-2, 9-15, 15-10, Friday night at Cal State Northridge.

“I thought we played our hearts out,” Granada Hills Coach Tom Harp said. “We have nothing to be ashamed of. We certainly didn’t lose because of lack of effort.”

The Highlanders came out on the short end of a tense, excellently played first game, couldn’t regroup and played horribly in game two, registering no kills--an almost unheard-of statistic.

But facing an embarrassing sweep, they came alive in game three. Earnest Yun had four kills and two solo blocks, and Mike DiSimone, the team’s leader all season, chipped in with three kills.

“We had a strong comeback,” said DiSimone, who had 18 kills. “I thought we’d come back even stronger.”

Granada Hills (15-2) trailed, 14-5, in game four, but instead of folding won a crucial side out and scored five consecutive points.

The match ended when Granada Hills’ Ryan Kamins dived over the center line for a loose ball. Point, game, and match to University (15-1).

It was the fifth City championship for the Warriors, who were led by Raoul Williams’ 26 kills.

Granada Hills won the 3-A championship in 1986 and 1987, and lost the 4-A title in 1991.