Asaoka Puts Forth a Little Extra Effort for Granada Hills : Prep volleyball: Highlanders triumph in Notre Dame tournament behind senior hitter’s MVP performance.

Outside hitter Danny Asaoka was prepared to go to great lengths to assure Granada Hills High of a victory over Crespi in the championship of the inaugural Notre Dame volleyball invitational Saturday night at Cal State Northridge.

“I would be on the ground giving it all I had before we were going to lose,� said Asaoka, a 6-foot-1 senior. “I would be fighting all the way.�

For the most part, however, Asaoka was able to remain upright as the Highlanders scored 12 points in a row to overcome a seven-point deficit and emerge with a 15-10 victory in the one-game championship match.

Asaoka, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player, made his contributions. But he received plenty of help from his teammates.

“Our back-row people did a real good job too,� Granada Hills Coach Tom Harp said. “You need to pass, set and spike to be successful. It was definitely a team effort.�

Randy Eason had six kills and Bobby Curtis had five for Granada Hills, which went undefeated in 11 games in the 20-team, daylong tournament.

A Marcus Sumner spike gave Crespi a 10-3 lead in the championship match, but it would be the last point the Celts would score.

Granada Hills tied the score, 10-10, after Crespi was called for a double hit and Asaoka put the Highlanders ahead, 11-10, on a service ace.

“It didn’t look good for a while,� Harp said. “Crespi is a pretty big team and they were going over the tops of our blocks and nobody has done that to us this year.�

The Highlanders defeated Chatsworth, 15-9, and Verdugo Hills, 15-8, in the eight-team single-elimination semifinal round to advance to the championship.

Crespi went 7-1 in pool play and defeated Canyon and Simi Valley by 15-6 scores to advance.

“It was a grueling tournament,� Curtis said. “We held together mentally and physically during a tough time. We all have confidence in each other.�

Asaoka agreed.

“We were really confident out there,� he said. “We all work good as a team and are committed. We all wanted to win equally. It’s hard for one person to go up against an entire team.�

Crespi’s Frank Romano and Tom Black tried their best to do just that. Romano, a 6-3 senior outside hitter, had a game-high nine kills. Black, a 6-4 middle blocker, had six to lead the Celts.

In the third-place game, Gene Urcan had six kills to lift Chatsworth over Simi Valley, 15-9. Simi Valley fell behind, 8-3, but closed to 11-8 before losing.

Two teams from each of the four five-team pools advanced to the semifinal round.

Chatsworth and Notre Dame, both 7-1, advanced from the first pool; Cleveland (4-3) and Simi Valley (8-0) from the second; Canyon (7-1) and Crespi from the third; and Granada Hills and Verdugo Hills (5-3) from the fourth pool.