Chatsworth Plays Large in Victory

Size matters in high school volleyball, especially when a team has three tall and powerful players the caliber of Chatsworth High’s Matt Cornell, Paul George and Doug Turner.

The 6-foot-4 Cornell had 27 kills, the 6-5 George, who is bound for UCLA, had 11 kills and three blocks and the 6-4 Turner finished with 13 kills and six blocks to help Chatsworth defeat Los Angeles University, 15-5, 15-7, 15-11, Tuesday night in a City Championship semifinal at Chatsworth.

The top-seeded Chancellors (13-0), seeking their first City title since 1989 and fourth overall, will play defending champion Woodland Hills Taft on Friday night at Cal State Northridge.

Taft, which has already lost to Chatsworth in West Valley League play, defeated Granada Hills, 15-12, 15-2, 6-15, 15-3, in the other semifinal.

Coach Greg Saltzberg, in his third season, always scours the Chatsworth campus for tall students, then tries to talk them into playing volleyball. Five of his six starters are 6-2 or taller.

“I love it,” he said of his giant lineup.

Chatsworth was in control except for a brief time in the third game when the Chancellors lost focus and fell behind, 9-6. But Cornell was the dominant player throughout. University had no answers for his consistent play in the middle.

“They beat us at the net,” said University Coach Neal Newman, whose teams have won seven City 4-A championships. “They should win the City title.”

Eric Sondheimer

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In Southern Section boys’ volleyball playoffs:

Placentia Valencia d. Torrance 15-12, 4-15, 15-13, 8-15, 16-14--Rob Aguilera broke a 14-14 tie in the fifth game with a block and kill for Valencia (18-1) in a Division III second-round victory at Torrance (13-13). Aguilera and Dan Bonkoski had 16 kills each for Valencia.

Redondo Union d. Irvine 14-16, 15-10, 15-6, 15-10--Matt Vlasach had 34 kills, a school record for four games, to lead the Sea Hawks (22-10) in a Division III match at Redondo.

In softball:

San Pedro 7, Verdugo Hills 0--Ashley Esparza (20-2) pitched her 14th shutout, allowing four hits and striking out nine, to lead top-seeded San Pedro (25-2) to a semifinal victory over fifth-seeded Verdugo Hills (17-12) in the City Championship playoffs at South Gate Park.

Esparza had three hits and drove in a pair of runs, while teammate Jackie Conlin had three hits and one run batted in for the Pirates.

Carson 6, Woodland Hills El Camino Real 1--Shaterra Davis had two hits, including a home run, and drove in two runs for the Colts in a City Championship semifinal at South Gate Park. Adrienne Alo had a triple and three RBIs for Carson and Danica Iolamo pitched a four-hitter with eight strikeouts.

Carson will play San Pedro in the final for the third consecutive year. San Pedro has won each of the last two, including a 20-inning marathon in 2000.

In baseball:

Phelan Serrano 14, Apple Valley Granite Hills 13--Taylor Long capped a five-run rally in the eighth inning with a run-scoring hit over the right fielder’s head to give the Diamondbacks (13-9-1) a victory in a wild-card game of the Southern Section Division III playoffs. Granite Hills scored four runs in the top of the eighth to break a 9-9 tie. Serrano then rallied for three runs and had the bases loaded when Daniel Flores drove in a run with a squeeze bunt. Long then delivered the game-winning hit.

Redlands East Valley 3, Moreno Valley Valley View 2--Carlos Cardenas scored on a wild pitch with one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Redlands East Valley (20-7) a Division I wild-card victory over Valley View (16-11).

Matt Millett of Redlands East Valley struck out eight, allowed four hits and gave up one earned run through eight innings but did not get the decision.

L.A. Loyola 4, Ventura Buena 2--Trey Martin (7-3) gave up one earned run as he pitched a five-hitter with 13 strikeouts to lead the Cubs (17-9) to a Division II wild-card victory over the visiting Bulldogs (10-14).

Fred Roche had a two-run double in the second inning and Cooper Bergdahl had a run-scoring double in the third and added a run for Loyola.

Alta Loma 12, Moreno Valley Rancho Verde 11--Alta Loma (13-14) scored all its runs in the first three innings then held on in a Division I wild-card game at Alta Loma.

Eric Weddle had four hits, including a triple, and Steve Ward had a triple and two RBIs for Alta Loma.