DIV. 1 VOLLEYBALL FINAL: CHATSWORTH FOLLOWS LEADER SENIOR LEADS TEAM TO FOURTH CITY TITLE IN A ROW.Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer Robert Pate has been a part of too many championships with the Chatsworth High boys' volleyball volleyball, outdoor or indoor ball and net game played on a level court. An upright net, 3 ft (or 1 m) high, the top of which stands 8 ft (2.43 m) from the ground for men, 7 ft 4 1/8 in (2. team to get scared in big moments. Maybe that explains why the Chancellors' senior outside hitter seemed to be everywhere Friday during the critical fourth game of the Chatsworth's 25-21, 25-21, 19-25, 25-13 victory over Taft of Woodland Hills in the City Championship final. It was the Chancellors' fourth City Championship in a row - the first time in City history a team has four-peated - and Pate played the biggest role in the most demanding moments, putting Chatsworth (15-3) on his shoulders in the fourth game to help put away the pesky Toreadors. Pate has been a premier player on the past three Chatsworth championship teams, but never more so than on Friday. The only returning player from last year's championship team, Pate led the Chancellors when they needed him most. ``It's just trying to get them focused, because they're young, man,'' Pate said. That youth was evident when Chatsworth relaxed in the third game after winning the first two games, enabling Taft (12-6) to climb back into the match with a win. The lackadaisical lack·a·dai·si·cal adj. Lacking spirit, liveliness, or interest; languid: "There'll be no time to correct lackadaisical driving techniques after trouble develops" William J. Hampton. play continued early in the fourth game, until Pate finally decided he'd seen enough. ``I was pretty aggravated ag·gra·vate tr.v. ag·gra·vat·ed, ag·gra·vat·ing, ag·gra·vates 1. To make worse or more troublesome. 2. To rouse to exasperation or anger; provoke. See Synonyms at annoy. by the way we were playing, because we were letting them back in,'' Pate said. From that point on, Pate seemed to play a part in every point, whether it was through hitting, digging or passing. After falling behind 6-2 in the fourth game, Chatsworth regrouped in and took over, eventually building a 20-12 lead. ``This (championship) is probably the most special because we're such a young team,'' Pate said. ``It's just a bunch of guys A Bunch of Guys (BOGs), or Group of Guys (GOGs) are terms used by counter-terrorism officials to refer to small, self-organizing terrorist cells.[1] BOGs typically have little to no contact with global terrorist groups like al Qaeda, so they independently plan and up from the JV team, but we kept getting better and we were able to win another one.'' Pate finished with a match-high 18 kills. Chatsworth controlled the opening game behind the brilliance of Pate - who set an emotional tone early with three big hits - and its ability to limit Elmo Noorzay's impact. Noorzay, a tremendous leaper at 5-foot-7 who is Taft's top offensive player, could not shake loose from the Chancellors' double-teams. Every time Noorzay went up for a hit, two Chatsworth players rose with him. Noorzay had two kills in the first game, but was also blocked four times with the 6-4 Pate, 6-8 Cody Loe, 6-1 Tony Lunnon and 6-2 Alex Vargas all taking turns building a two-man wall in front of the him. Another key was Chatsworth's ability to win the critical points late, reeling reel·ing n. Maine Sustained noise, as from hammering: "Hark that reeling, now, you'll wake the baby!" Anonymous. off the final two points after Taft closed to 23-21 to take the first game. That carried over into the second game, when Taft came back from 20-15 down to get within 22-20, only to have Chatsworth score three of the next four points to win. Taft and Noorzay rallied to win the third game, with Noorzay adjusting to Chatsworth's double-teams with well-timed tips and touch kills. The Toreadors outscored Chatsworth 6-1 to win the game after the Chancellors drew to within 19-18. The matchup was hardly unusual - after all, the two teams have played in three City Championship finals over the last four years - although still somewhat of a surprise. The Toreadors rose from third place in the West Valley League and the fourth seed in the postseason to reach the final, outlasting top-seeded Granada Hills in a stunning five-game upset in the semifinals. Chatsworth tied Granada Hills for the West Valley League championship, but was edged out of the top seed by five points in a tiebreaker tie·break·er n. An additional contest or period of play designed to establish a winner among tied contestants. Also called tiebreak. tie . Three other teams have won three City titles in a row - Taft, University and Palisades Palisades, cliffs along the west bank of the Hudson River, NE N.J. and SE N.Y., extending from N of Jersey City, N.J., to the vicinity of Piermont, N.Y., with a general altitude of from 350 ft to 550 ft (107–168 m). - but none managed to win a fourth. In fact, it was Chatsworth who denied the Toreadors a four-peat in 2002. In the Invitational in·vi·ta·tion·al adj. Restricted to invited participants: an invitational golf tournament. n. An event, especially a sports tournament, restricted to invited participants. Adj. 1. championship, Birmingham of Lake Balboa Balboa, town (1990 pop. 2,751), Colón prov., in the former Panama Canal Zone, on the Gulf of Panama. The port for Panama City, Balboa was the administrative headquarters of the Panama Canal Zone. It was also the site of a U.S. navy base (closed 1999). defeated Westchester 25-20, 25-15, 25-19 behind 10 kills and 25 assists from Chris Kornish. The Patriots (9-9) also got 12 kills and eight digs from Patrick Caldwell. Vincent Bonsignore, (818) 713-3612 vincent.bonsignore(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Chatsworth's Cody Loe spikes spikes see peplomer. the ball over Taft's Elmo Noorzay, left, and Jason Barrass during the City volleyball championship. Michael Owen
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