VAN NUYS — The dynasty isn’t over.
Chatsworth’s boys volleyball team is back on top in the L.A. City Section after it defeated league rival Granada Hills, 24-26, 25-21, 25-14, 25-18, on Saturday in the Open Division championship match at Birmingham High School.
The Chancellors (42-9) defeated the top-seeded Highlanders (23-7) to notch their fourth City title in six years. They won back-to-back Open titles in 2023 and ’24.
Chatsworth, which lost in the Open semifinals a year ago, used aggressive serving and an attack on the net to keep Granada Hills out of system for the majority of the last two games of the match.
The game plan kept the Highlanders uncomfortable and behind while also keeping the ball away from West Valley League co-MVP RJ Francisco.
“It’s really hard, RJ is one of the best players in the City,” Chancellors coach Sina Aghassy said. “He’s just a phenomenal athlete, but you know, it takes creativity, and I got to give a lot of credit to my coaches as well. We watched a lot of film, tried to pick apart certain areas, try to throw some short, some deep, throw them off their game, but again we can drop whatever game plan, the guys came to play and executed.”
Francisco shared the league MVP honors this season with Chatsworth opposite Noa Beauregard, who shined in the final with game-highs of 13 kills and three blocks.
“I think just keeping them unexpected with everything we’re doing is the best part,” Beauregard said, “and just throwing in everything and not letting them get comfortable, while we’re also not getting comfortable on our side.”
Granada Hills’ balanced attack kept the Chatsworth block guessing in set one, as five Highlanders contributed two or more kills. Granada Hills played well to start but six service errors kept Chatsworth close and forced deuce before the Highlanders pushed ahead.
The second set looked like more of the same with both teams settled in and firing in kills left and right. Deuce seemed imminent again.
Chancellors outside hitter Kai Kalma reentered the game and gave his team momentum with a towering block of Francisco to make it 24-21 before Rabaja found the open court for a set-point ace.
While everything kept clicking for Chatsworth, Granada Hills stumbled in set three. Serve receive struggles kept the team from its normal actions while nine hitting errors gutted the team and fueled the Chancellors’ 10-1 run.
The Highlanders cleaned up the errors in set four but the Chancellors couldn’t be stopped. Several subs made plays that showed Chatsworth’s impressive depth at multiple positions.
“The depth is no secret to us,” Aghassy said. “We’ve been operating every match, using our subs especially in tournaments… Depth is not a thing unless you use it, and so the ability to use it in a championship game and get results in production, that’s the thing I’m most proud of today.”
Chancellors middle Grant Chang added 11 kills while senior outside hitter Jaden Lee finished with 10 kills and a block. Chatsworth senior Jacob Gimbert totaled eight kills with a fiery swing in just three sets of front-row action.
“Jacob Gimbert was phenomenal,” Aghassy said. “He’s a half-three rotation player. He came in six rotations and just impacted the game in many ways.”
Senior opposite Ethan Flores led Granada Hills with 11 kills. Francisco finished with seven kills and three blocks.
Chatsworth split 3-2 wins with Granada Hills during the regular season.
The Chancellors nearly went unscathed in the City playoffs, as they dropped just one set across three matches.
“I think this one is special because of the road it took to get here,” Aghassy said. “To drop that last match against them in the league. … I got to give a lot of credit to my guys, and just my seniors. A lot of the seniors stepped up.”
Chatsworth’s fourth City title this decade was delivered by a senior-heavy starting lineup. A talented junior class and freshman setter Andrew Ma will look to keep the championship standard alive next season.
“With the performance our freshman Andrew Ma had setting, we’re in good hands,” Aghassy said. “There’s a lot of underclassmen that have been waiting for their turn. I think the culture has been set really high, and the standard’s been set really high, and we’re just going to continue to work hard and see what we can do year in and year out.”
Chatsworth and Granada Hills will both enter the CIF Southern California Regional playoffs next week and hope to make a run at a state title.
The CIF State will release the regional brackets Sunday. Matches are set to begin Tuesday.
“I think as long as a school exists, the legacy is still going to be there,” Beauregard said. “So, I think we’re gonna get after it next year, and we were getting back at it on Monday to get back into state.”