Taft’s Win Is No Sweat

Coach Doug Magorien smiled and stuck out his hand.

“Welcome to Taft hell,” he said.

Who could disagree?

The Taft High gym was nearly 90 degrees despite the 7 p.m. start time Tuesday, the result of a long, hot day and a lack of air conditioning.

But Magorien’s players brushed aside the heat and took care of North Hollywood, 15-7, 15-9, 15-2, in a first-round match of the boys’ volleyball City Championship playoffs.

Nick Armstrong had 11 kills and Bryan Capper added eight for second-seeded Taft (13-1), which hosts No. 10-seeded Huntington Park (12-2) in a quarterfinal Thursday.

Heat or not, the Toreadors will be ready.

“We have no air conditioning and like four [circulating] fans, but it’s kind of an advantage for our team,” Capper said. “People come in and they’re like, ‘Wow, it’s hot.’ ”

Taft hopes to remain hot enough to win a third consecutive City title. The Toreadors don’t really have a star player, but they are more well-rounded than in years past.

Armstrong, Capper and Inshik Shin (six kills) took turns delivering against North Hollywood (9-4), which fell behind in the first game, 11-2, in the second game, 12-1, and in the third, 7-0.

“It’s not just going to fall into our hands,” Capper said. “It’s all or nothing in the playoffs. We’re working for it.”

Kenny Hauser had 23 kills and was the only North Hollywood player to bother the Toreadors on a consistent basis.

The early deficits were too much to overcome for the No. 15-seeded Huskies.

“When you look at the scoreboard and you see zeros, it’s hard,” Hauser said. “They’ll be in the finals.”

In other first-round Championship-bracket matches:

Grant def. Sylmar 15-9, 15-10, 15-10--Atley Kasky had 18 kills and Mike Charleston added 15 for the No.1-seeded Lancers (14-0) at Grant.

The Lancers play No. 8-seeded Palisades (10-4) at Grant in a quarterfinal Thursday.

Monroe def. Granada Hills, 8-15, 15-2, 14-16, 15-13, 15-5--Eddy Chen had 14 kills for Granada Hills (7-7), but the No. 4-seeded Vikings won at Monroe.

Monroe (12-2) hosts No. 5 Venice (13-1) Thursday.

Chatsworth def. Fremont, 15-2, 15-1, 15-3--Doug Turner and Paul George each had nine kills for the No. 3-seeded Chancellors (12-2) at Chatsworth.

Diving

Division II championships--Joey Castellani and Cassidy Farwell of Crescenta Valley placed second at Claremont McKenna Aquatics Complex.

Castellani, a junior who placed third last season, scored 488.15 points in the boys’ competition on a series of 11 dives. He finished behind Irvine University senior Louie Gagnet, who won his second title in three years with a division-record 640.95 points.

Senior Steve Grivno of Crescenta Valley scored 350.15 points to place sixth. Junior Daniel Fekete of Crescenta Valley placed 12th with 291.35 points.

Harvard-Westlake’s Ravi Garg finished seventh with 333.00 points and teammate Greg Harm was 10th (315.80). David Kayvansar of Hart was 14th with 278.50.

The top 16 divers earned points for their swim teams. Crescenta Valley boys earned 35 points heading into Saturday’s swim finals.

Farwell, fifth last season, finished behind junior Kristin Littell of Don Lugo, who won her third consecutive girls’ title.

Jennifer Fayollat of Flintridge Sacred Heart placed fifth with 382.90 points.

La Canada’s Alexis Mintz was sixth (374.95) and Crescenta Valley’s Cathline Youm was seventh. Harvard-Westlake’s Kristin Boyd and Alex Dunphy finished eighth and ninth.

Division I championships--Leanne Dumais of Buena was third with 535.05 points at the Marguerite Aquatics Complex in Mission Viejo.