Pasta Feast Sets Table for Upset by Chatsworth

CHATSWORTH —  Party on.

In pursuit of unity, togetherness and a full stomach, members of the Chatsworth High boys’ volleyball team held a pasta party the night before their showdown against Granada Hills.

Epicureans? Perhaps. Victors? Absolutely.

The Chancellors upset Granada Hills, 18-16, 15-9, 6-15, 15-2, in a Northwest Valley Conference match Tuesday at Chatsworth.

The Chancellors (5-2, 3-0 in conference play) defeated Granada Hills (5-1, 2-1) for the first time since 1992 and took a good-sized stride toward breaking the Highlanders’ two-year stronghold on the conference title.

“We were talking about this all week,” said Omer Samiri, who nearly tripled his career high with 17 kills and, of course, attended the carbo-loading festivities Monday night at teammate Ryan LeVine’s house.

Both teams burned plenty of calories in the 38-minute first game. Granada Hills trailed, 13-8, fought off five game points and even caught the Chancellors at 16-16.

But Samiri popped a pair of kills and Frank Ruiz closed the game with a kill.

Donald Puathasnanon, who is mulling over a scholarship offer from Cal State Northridge, tallied 11 kills in the first game for Granada Hills and finished with 21.

But the left-handed Samiri couldn’t be stopped by the Highlanders who, like other volleyball teams, are geared toward stopping righties, not lefties.

“The left-hander can be devastating,” Chatsworth Coach Bud Dow said. “I’ve always fantasized about having five left-handers and one righty setter and run things backwards.”

For now, Dow will take reality.

The Chancellors dropped the third game, as Puathasnanon had six kills and Granada Hills cranked up its defense with five block solos.

But Chatsworth rebounded with some defense of its own in the final game, with five block solos--two each by Chris Wilson and Stephen Wiessner--en route to a 10-1 lead.

The Highlanders didn’t quite have the same preparatory experience as Chatsworth: They practiced poorly on Monday.

“We played like we practiced,” said Granada Hills Coach Tom Harp, who graduated from Chatsworth in 1971. “Chatsworth outplayed us in every aspect. They outpassed, outserved and outblocked us.”