Exchange student Pothong puts down team-high 18 kills; Ahumada
tallies 32 assists in GHS spikers’ match loss
MORGAN HILL – Senior Angkoon Pothong traveled nearly 8,000 miles from his home in Thailand to sunny California, where he is currently an exchange student at Gilroy High School.
Although the two locations are worlds apart, Pothong found a common ground on the volleyball court. In his homeland, Pothong has played competitive volleyball since 9th grade – making him a welcomed addition to this year’s Mustang spikers line-up.
“Actually, it’s been good,” said Pothong of playing with the Mustangs. “They play a different style over there (in Thailand).”
It took a little while, but Pothong has meshed well with his Gilroy High teammates – who call him by the nickname, ‘Neo’.
“We’ve gotten close to each other,” said Pothong, who exploded for a career-high 18 kills in Wednesday’s four-game match loss to league champion Live Oak. “It’s fun (but) I miss my teammates in Thailand. We know each other really well.”
Pothong and senior setter Jay Ahumada may have only known each other since his arrival in August – but the Mustang teammates developed a chemistry that was on full display last night in Morgan Hill.
“It’s gotten better,” said Ahumada, who finished with a team-high 32 assists. “It really stood out in this game.”
It’s quite simple, really.
Ahumada sets the ball up high in the middle and Pothong is always there to bring down the hammer – even when his Mustangs were up against a much taller Live Oak unit.
“We spend a long time together at practice,” Pothong said. “We know each other now.”
And now Pothong, who will return to Thailand in June, knows what it is like to play in a classic Gilroy-Live Oak rivalry game.
“They’re good,” said Pothong of the Acorns, who are undefeated in 11 league games this season.
In the rivals’ first meeting back on April 2, the Mustangs did not put up much of a fight, falling three straight games to Live Oak. But this time around, it was a different Mustang team – which was riding a two-match winning streak and looking for the upset.
“I wanted it really bad because I can’t stand Live Oak,” Ahumada said. “After they beat us the first time, it was our goal to be them this time.”
That did not happen – as Gilroy won only the second game, 25-20, while Live Oak won the first game, 25-19, the third, 25-23, and the fourth, 25-21 in its home finale. The upset-minded Mustangs, however, could have easily been on the winning side.
“We’re playing so good right now and that’s the league champions and we take them to four games,” head coach Craig Martin said. “They have five of eight seniors and we’re a team of underclassmen. That’s not to take anything away from Live Oak. They are a great team. They deserve to be league champions.”
The pivotal point of the match came in game-three with both teams hoping to take a 2-1 lead after splitting the first two games. (In high school volleyball, the match is decided in a best-of-five format.) There were 14 ties scores and eight lead changes.
With sophomore Vincent DeLorenzo at the service line, Gilroy went on a 4-1 run to take a 13-9 advantage midway through game-three. But the Acorns chipped away at the deficit and used a 7-2 surge to claim a one-point lead at 16-15. Neither team could pull ahead by more than one after that, as the score was even at 22-22.
Live Oak then scored two straight points, prompting a Mustang time-out. Gilroy (5-8 in T-CAL) was able to regain the serve and get within one before Acorns big-man Chris Deem floored the clinching kill.
Game four was another tight contest with Live Oak jumping out to a 3-1 lead and the Mustangs claiming a 16-13 advantage later on. But the Acorns finished strong – tying the score at 18-18 and going on a 7-3 run to close out the match.
“That was one of the strongest games we’ve played. We stayed with them until the end,” Ahumada said. “Our back row played well and our blockers played outstanding. … I think we should have taken this one.”
Both Ahumada and Pothong had 22 block touches on the front line, as well as sophomore Ryan Dickerson, while senior Nick Mason and sophomore Dominic Jackson had 19 block touches. Senior Kyle Loving registered 10 kills and DeLorenzo tallied six kills.
“We played 100 percent better today,” said assistant coach Rich Hammond of the Mustangs, who will finish out their season with Friday’s home match against Palma.
“Towards the end of the season, the team’s been clicking more,” Ahumada said. “Everyone is all over the place.”
