Dickson Shows Stuff in Royal’s Victory

Cam Dickson did everything but bring his resume.

The outside hitter for Royal High, in a sense auditioning in front of Coach Jeff Campbell of Cal State Northridge, could have found a gymnasium full of references after his performance Wednesday night at Harvard-Westlake.

Dickson, a senior middle blocker, delivered 22 kills, some that would have scored a 10, and Royal defeated Harvard-Westlake, 15-8, 15-13, 7-15, 15-8, in a nonleague boys’ volleyball match.

Dickson, who is being recruited by the Matadors, pounded the ball down the line, across the court, and in a few instances, straight down . . . and inside the 10-foot line.

You could say he was properly motivated by the appearance of Campbell and assistant Bob Samuelson, who might know a thing or two about middle blockers. Samuelson was a U.S. Olympic team member.

“That pushed me just that much more, knowing they were there,” said Dickson, who said he is leaning toward signing with Northridge. “It made me push my limit.”

Ryan Moberly, who had 33 kills in a four-game victory over Santa Barbara, added 17 kills of his own.

Moberly might also be on the Northridge checklist, except for one small problem--he’s already committed to Brigham Young.

“They’re two of the best players I’ve ever had,” Coach Bob Ferguson of Royal said. “Cam Dickson is virtually unstoppable. He can hit the ball hard and he can hit it over anybody.”

Royal (2-0), which had an uninspiring practice on Tuesday, showed plenty of emotion against Harvard-Westlake, coming from behind to win the first two games.

The Highlanders trailed in the first game, 6-4, before embarking on an 8-0 run punctuated by two kills and two blocks by Dickson.

In the second game, Royal trailed, 8-3 and 13-12, before coming back and closing out the game on an ace by Moberly.

Harvard-Westlake (2-1) led again in the third game, but didn’t lose this time.

Royal, however, was back in the fourth game and won the first meeting between the teams since 1991, when Harvard-Westlake defeated Royal in the Southern Section Division II championship.

“I’m sure it’s going to become a tradition now [to play Harvard-Westlake every year],” Ferguson said. “I hope it is. It benefits both of us to play a good beginning-of-the-season game like this.”

Harvard-Westlake was plagued by passing problems.

Coach Jess Quiroz tried shuffling the lineup many times, but could not find the right combination.

Bill Strickland had 12 kills and Will Curtis added 11 for Harvard-Westlake. Both have signed with Stanford.

Jon Katz finished with 19 kills for the Wolverines.

Bryan Reinstein of Royal had 14 kills in 16 attempts and finished with a .750 hitting percentage.