Samohi Spikers Shine in All-Star Exhibition

Still basking in the glow of their , five volleyball players were invited to play in one last match before starting summer vacation. 

Outside hitter Charles Levy, opposite hitter Jack Cramer, middle blockers Julian Hess and Trevor Pye, and defensive specialist Eric Barber all participated in the first Westside Boys Volleyball All-Star Exhibition on Wednesday night at Samohi's small gym.

Organized on a whim by Samohi coach Liane Sato, the event gave 16 of the best players representing five area programs a chance to showcase their skills.

"It was really a last-minute thing, I just asked the coaches to pick players they thought would like to do it and they were very receptive," Sato said. "If they want to continue it next year that would be great." 

Blue and gold teams were formed and each eight-man roster was a mixture of players from different schools, giving teammates a unique opportunity to play against each other.

Hess and Cramer played for the blue team, piloted by Windward Coach Michelle McGuire. Levy, Pye and Barber were on the gold team under the direction of Beverly Hills Coach Jonathan Ramin.

"It's fun getting to know the people you play against," Cramer said. "I don't play club, so other than my teammates, I didn't know any of them."

The blue team won the first two games, 25-22, 25-23, but the gold team stormed back to sweep the last three, 25-16, 26-24, 15-9.

"You have to give all the credit to Lian [Sato] for putting this together," McGuire said. "She e-mailed me and asked if I wanted to be one of the coaches and I was like, 'Heck yeah!' She knows the game really well, and obviously the teams were evenly matched. It was a good send-off for the seniors."

Though no official stats were kept, Levy and outside hitter Ryan Manoogian of Windward were standouts for the gold team. Hess and outside hitter Andy Aguila of Culver City stood out for the blue team.

Rounding out the gold team were setter/opposite hitter Chase Pion of Windward, setter Alex Aguilera of Culver City, libero Jake Hurwitz of and middle blocker Joshua Johnson of Beverly Hills.

"It was cool to meet everyone and to start something that hopefully will continue after we're gone," said Levy, a senior bound for the University of California, Santa Barbara. "It was nice to get the win too. We got on a roll once we stopped making mistakes."

Rounding out the blue team were setter Daniel Tabariai and libero Jason Nik of Beverly Hills, middle blocker Kekoa Mathews of Culver City, setter/opposite hitter Drew Pion of Windward and outside hitter Taylor Moldo of Crossroads.

"The first two games were like a wake-up call," Aguilera said. "As the match went on we started playing more as a team than as individuals."

Other Vikings showed up to watch and cheer on their teammates, leading to a lot of playful bantering back and forth. Asked about her team's chances of repeating, Sato said it would be tough.

"We lose eight seniors, so it's hard to say how good we'll be," she said. "We're just going to work real hard and see where that leads us."