The Culver City high school boys’ varsity volleyball team was knocked out of the first round of the CIF playoffs last Saturday at Culver City by Loara high school of Anaheim. The final score was 3-0. All three games of the set were close and that’s the way the year started and ended for the Centaurs who finished the season 11-14 overall and 6-4 in the tough Ocean league.
“We had a young team this year,” said head coach Joe Manzo. “They learned a lot and they grew a lot and they had a lot of determination. My biggest problem is trying to convince some of these great athletes at Culver City to come and play volleyball. Kyle Johnson is a good example. He played football, basketball and volleyball. Now he is going to attend UC Santa Cruz on a volleyball scholarship.”
Johnson was a starting wide receiver on the football, he was the best basketball player in the school for two straight years and he developed into one of high school volleyball’s best outside hitters in California. Although Culver City had an overall losing record Johnson is happy with his senior year in volleyball. “I did not expect us to go this far,” said Johnson. “Although we did not win the playoff game it was one of the best games we played all year. All three sets were close. I love volleyball and I look forward to playing volleyball in college.”
Another senior who had fun this year was Jonathan Cummings. He recovered from early season injuries to have a productive season as a setter. “First of all I would like to thank athletic trainer Marcos White and his staff for getting me ready to play this year,” said Cummings. “I would also like to thank my coach, Joe Manzo. He made it about volleyball and character on the court. There was a strong bond between players and we developed friendships.” Cummings will attend Stanford in the fall and play club volleyball.
Sometimes friendships take priority over winning, and that describes the 2016 Culver City boys’ varsity volleyball team.
