Kim Becomes the Big Man on the Block

Jamie Quaglino looked up and couldn’t believe his luck.

Two years ago, good fortune towered over the Alemany High boys’ volleyball coach in the form of Eugene Kim, a 6-foot-5 sophomore who transferred from Notre Dame.

Quaglino promptly informed Kim that volleyball tryouts were just around the corner. Kim nodded and stared blankly.

Volleyball?

What was that?

Quaglino sought out Kim during the next week and finally persuaded him to show up. It has turned out beneficial for both.

Kim, a 6-7 senior middle blocker, has helped Alemany to a 10-1 record.

He has developed into a sturdy blocker and a decent attacker despite playing volleyball for only two years.

He had a typically balanced match against Chaminade last week, posting 15 kills and eight blocks in a five-game victory.

“He’s a sponge of knowledge--he picks up anything,” Quaglino said. “He’s still got 100 times more room to get better.”

Kim also is knowledgeable in the classroom.

He is taking four advanced placement classes this semester and has a 3.94 grade-point average, which seems to fit well with his aspiration to be a lawyer.

Kim will attend UCLA and hopes to walk on to the volleyball team.

His progress is evident compared to when he first started playing.

“I had no idea what I was doing,” Kim said. “I was kind of scared. [Quaglino] said to spike the ball and I didn’t know what he meant.”

Now, Kim is the one instilling fear in opponents.

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T.J. Young lives in Manhattan Beach and plays for Loyola, but he has roots in the region.

Young’s older brother, Ron, played basketball at Hoover in the mid-1980s and went to USC on a basketball scholarship.

His sister, Nancy Tinkham, played volleyball at Hoover and UC Santa Barbara and is girls’ volleyball coach at Flintridge Sacred Heart.

Another sister, Tracy, was a standout basketball player at Glendale.

“Since everybody in my family is an athlete, it’s basically expected that I’m going to be an athlete,” said Young, a 6-5 senior outside hitter. “It wasn’t like I was pushed into it.

“I just found my sport and stayed with it.”

The youngest of the Youngs has signed with UC Santa Barbara.

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Highland and Taft advanced to the semifinals of the Tournament of Champions at Cal State Northridge on Saturday.

Highland lost to San Jose Bellarmine, 16-14, after holding leads of 8-2, 10-6 and 14-12. The Bulldogs defeated Simi Valley in the quarterfinals, 15-10.

Taft lost to San Clemente, 15-4, in the semifinals.

In the quarterfinals, Alemany lost to San Clemente, 15-7. The Indians defeated Canyon in the first round, 15-13.

Trent Sorensen of Highland and Mike Gledhill of Taft were all-tournament selections.

San Clemente won the tournament title.

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Boys’ Volleyball Top 10

Rankings of teams in the region

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RK LW School (League) Rec. 1 2 Highland (Golden) 4-0 2 1 Royal (Marmonte) 10-1 3 3 Taft (West Valley) 10-0 4 4 Canyon (Foothill) 5-2 5 5 Quartz Hill (Golden) 6-1 6 6 Alemany (Mission) 10-1 7 7 Chaminade (Mission) 8-2 8 8 Westlake (Marmonte) 10-1 9 9 Village Christian (Alpha) 12-0 10 10 Simi Valley (Marmonte) 9-2

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