Richmond Steals the Show for Knights

Don’t kill that spotlight yet.

Bumped from its gymnasium for more than a month so that the drama department could perform “Damn Yankees,” the Notre Dame High boys’ volleyball team put on quite a show itself Tuesday night.

The Knights defeated Crespi, 15-7, 8-15, 15-6, 15-3, in a Mission League match at Notre Dame.

Notre Dame (5-6, 3-4 in Mission League play) had 12 aces and kept Crespi (6-5, 3-4) off balance all night with tough jump serving by Bro Richmond and Mike Kent, who combined for eight aces.

No stranger to center stage, Richmond also had 17 kills.

And he had fun.

“I play for the crowds,” said Richmond, whose father, Branscombe, is a regular on the TV show “Renegade.”

“It’s a family thing.”

Richmond did not play in the first game and half of the second because of unspecified disciplinary reasons.

But the Knights survived and even grabbed the first game thanks to a balanced attack: Four players had at least two kills.

Richmond’s entry midway through the second game didn’t provide immediate dividends, as Crespi’s Ryan Hill clobbered six of his 10 kills to help even the match.

But the third and fourth game belonged to Richmond, who banged five and 10 kills, respectively.

In the fourth game, Notre Dame jumped to a 10-0 lead behind three aces by Kent and three kills by Richmond.

Cal State Northridge assistant Coach Neil Coffman, who was there to check out Richmond’s skills, probably liked what he saw.

Crespi Coach Alvin Lamarre, however, wasn’t so thrilled with the net result.

“I tried everything to slow them down,” said Lamarre. “I tried subbing, calling time outs. They took it to us tonight.”

The Knights, who play their final five league matches at home, repaid Crespi for a five-game loss at the hands of the Celts earlier in the season.