Crescenta Valley boys’ volleyball completes sweep of Glendale

GLENDALE — Whether lining up for a serve or handling the outside hitting responsibilities, Min Kim came prepared to have an impact on the Crescenta Valley High boys’ volleyball team.

The junior outside hitter first got the Falcons off on the right note with a couple of aces before setting the stage on offense with one of his better efforts of the season.

Kim finished with 12 kills and three aces Wednesday to lift visiting Crescenta Valley to a 25-17, 32-30, 25-18 Pacific League victory against Glendale.

Crescenta Valley improved to 16-2, 6-2 in league and completed the two-match season series sweep of Glendale, which dropped to 1-9 in league.

“With my serving, you just try to go out there and try to turn it on to help get the team going,” Kim said. “With the kills, you feel the energy and you look to keep the energy level up and keep communicating with your teammates.

“I think I’ve grown a lot since the start of the season. I was a little timid in the beginning, but now I can feel the pressure having gone away.”

Kim had two kills in the first game to give the Falcons a 5-3 lead. He then had six kills in the pivotal and dramatic second game that took nearly 40 minutes to complete.

Crescenta Valley Coach John Nelson said the Falcons have turned to Kim to help solidify their offense.

“He’s a very competitive player and a pretty good leader,” said Nelson, whose team finished with 10 aces. “I’ve been impressed with the way he’s been taking on the leadership role.

“His attitude is always upbeat. We were able to do a couple of different things on offense, like getting the ball more to players like him.”

In the second game, Kim proved to be at his best. He had two key kills late in the set. The first one tied it at 28 and the second gave the Falcons a 31-30 advantage.

“There was a lot of energy with the team going back and forth in the second game,” Kim said. “We had made some mistakes with our hitting, but we were able to regroup.”

It proved to be difficult for the Nitros to recover after putting up a valiant effort in the middle game.

Kim had a kill to give Crescenta Valley an 11-10 lead in the third game. Crescenta Valley, which swept Glendale in a home match April 2, would never relinquish the lead.

Glendale Coach Ta’ase Mose said the Nitros just came up short in knotting the match at a game apiece.

“I hadn’t seen anything like that before the way that second set was going,” said Mose, who got eight kills from Kyle Holguin and five from Hence King. “We put up quite a fight and you come to find out that every single point counts.

“We were feeling pretty good at winning that game, but you have to give CV credit. They are a very good team.”

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Follow Charles Rich on Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich .