SANTA ANA – The first swing for Esperanza’s Jake Arnitz was off the mark Wednesday night.
Arnitz, who was making his volleyball season debut after sitting out because of a back injury, picked up steam as the match progressed. Arnitz recorded 29 kills to lead the fifth-ranked Aztecs (15-3, 7-0) to the 18-25, 26-24, 25-10, 25-18 Century League victory over sixth-ranked Foothill.
“It honestly helps so much having him back in the lineup,” Esperanza setter Ryan Heller said. “Teams are going to go after him and we have great middles, great opposite and they’re all ready to get sets.
“Having that freedom to set Jake when we’re in trouble, but also clearing up the whole offense just makes it so much easier and makes all of our jobs easier.”
Arnitz, the Register’s 2013 boys volleyball player of the year, initially injured his back playing with the U.S. junior national team during the summer.
“I’ve been training really hard in physical therapy,” Arnitz said. “I’ve been feeling better. I started practicing a little bit. I took it really slow. I started just doing the bare minimum in practice and now I’m starting to get into the game and I felt good so I told them I was ready to go.
“I started playing in (matches) at practice probably a week-and-a-half to two weeks ago. I was taking it easy, not really diving and managing my swings.
The Knights (10-3, 5-2) were certainly geared up from the start. With the opening set tied, 10-10, Jacob Dean’s kill gave the Knights the lead for good on their way to winning the first set.
After a narrow victory in the second set, the Aztecs, behind Arnitz, took control of the match for the victory.
“The more he plays, the better he’s going to get,” Esperanza coach Isaac Owens said of Arnitz. “He’s a little rusty, but he’s a game-changer. He’s one of the most dominant players out there and you throw him in, it makes everybody else better.”
Ben Oxnard added nine kills for the Aztecs. Brennan To led the Knights with 12 kills.
Contact the writer: dcalhoun@ocregister.com
