PaliHi’s boys volleyball team won yet another Western League title by finishing with an undefeated 10-0 record.
With a 33-5 record overall, the young team, which has no starting seniors, was dominant in its league games and a forceful competitor in tournament play.
On April 25, the Dolphins won their last regular season game, beating LACES (25-12, 25-15, 25-17), and five days prior, the team triumphed over Westchester (25-3, 25-16, 25-6). Both games continued Pali’s pattern of not losing even one set in any of its league victories.
Photo: Lesly Hall Photography
Last weekend, the team reached the Gold Division in the Redondo Power Classic by beating Cathedral Catholic (25-18, 25-14) and Peninsula (18-25, 25-19, 15-5) while losing (25-14, 21-25, 10-15) to Great Oak in pool play. In the Gold Division, Pali lost tight matches to Mira Costa (21-25, 24-26) and Santa Monica (23-25, 25-22, 13-15). The Dolphins had previously beaten Santa Monica (25-17, 30-28, 24-26, 25-22) in an intersectional game on April 19.
As of Friday, the team, which has been coached by Carlos Gray for four years, was ranked 22nd in the state and 31st nationwide. In Division 1 of the Los Angeles City Section, the Dolphins were ranked first as of April 17.
The team has been consistently strong through the years, said Gray, who previously coached at Malibu High for 13 years and still teaches special education there.
“It’s a very high-level program,” he noted. The banner in Pali’s gym lists 12 city championships since 1974, including 2012 and 2015.
The current team includes five starters from last year’s squad: junior twin brothers Jeff and Scott Stuart and sophomores Akhil Tangutur, Marcus Partain and Justin Howard, plus junior Flaviano Winther and freshman Miles Partain.
The remaining team members are senior Eros Surya, juniors Jimmy Taylor, Riley Byington, Kai Padden and Colum Yeh, and sophomore Mason Mallory.
On May 2, the city playoffs seeding meeting was held.
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