Flintridge Prep boys’ volleyball duo nets All-CIF honors
AJ Nicassio and Nathan Powell proved to be reliable in many ways throughout the season for the Flintridge Prep boys’ volleyball team.
The seniors were expected to stabilize the young Rebels, who looked to continue their mastery in the Prep League and be in line to make a deep run in the postseason, while also providing punch on offense and defense.
Nicassio and Powell ended their high school careers on a positive note as they were bestowed with All-CIF Southern Section Division IV first-team recognition after the CIF office unveiled its teams for all six divisions Thursday.
Flintridge Prep finished 25-5, 8-0 in league and lost in five sets to Windward in a CIF Southern Section Division semifinal road match. The Rebels captured their seventh straight league championship.
Nicassio, who was named the league’s most valuable player for the third straight season and is a reigning All-Area pick, contributed a team-leading 496 kills and added 306 digs and 69 aces. The outside hitter finished with more than a 1,000 career kills with the Rebels and registered a .476 hitting percentage.
“AJ was one of our go-to players and he did everything well,” Flintridge Prep coach Sean Beattie said. “He’s been extremely consistent, not just this year but in all four years with us.
“He’s the type of player that doesn’t come around that often. We were lucky to have him and he always made our teams better.”
Powell, an outside hitter, finished with 328 kills, 182 digs and a .343 hitting percentage.
“Nathan was another great option to have and we could count on him all of the time,” Beattie said. “He got big kills, dug out a lot of balls and his overall hitting improved.
“Like AJ, he’s going to be hard to replace.”
Los Altos’ Jordan Lucas, a freshman outside hitter, was named the division’s player of the year after helping his squad win the division championship.
