Houser lifts Gorman past Chargers

On the first day of Southwest League play, Bishop Gorman’s boys volleyball team discovered it would be without middle blocker Alex Turner and Ben Carter.

Lucky for the Gaels, they still had Bobby Houser.

Houser had 23 kills, including 10 in the second game, as Gorman swept Clark, 25-23, 27-25, 25-23.

“We tried to do some different things and move some guys around, have them help out in other areas to see how deep we are in different positions, and we played really flat,” Gorman co-coach Paul Hollander said. “They didn’t play well. They didn’t communicate a lot. A couple of them tried to get them going. But this was one of the worst matches I’ve ever seen our guys play.”

Turner and Carter missed the match because of illness.

“We should play the same, even without them,” Houser said. “Basically, the guys just need to go out there and execute, no matter who’s out there on the court.”

Houser, a junior middle blocker, also logged two digs, two blocks and an ace. He credited his club team experience for helping him lead the Gaels (2-1, 1-0 Southwest) to victory.

“Bobby is a Division I prospect. He’s a very good player,” Gorman co-coach Erik Davis said. “He has a lot to learn still, but he can take over matches. He was clearly the difference tonight.”

Gorman’s Cameron Tom contributed 44 assists, Tim Carter had eight kills, and Ryan Parks provided a late spark with 10 kills.

“We’re going to find our power, and we’re going to use it and get better,” Hollander said. “A lot of these guys don’t play all the time; they come from basketball, maybe play two and a half months a year and that’s it. We need to get them out of that comfort zone and make them realize they’ve got to be athletes now and play volleyball, too.”

George Huang led the Chargers (3-1, 0-1) with five kills and five blocks. David Samson had 19 assists, five digs and three blocks, and Sunny Patel supplied five kills.