Pion Brothers Shine in All-Star Volleyball Match

The high school volleyball season ended three weeks ago, but Pacific Palisades residents and are always up for a good game.

Along with Windward teammate Ryan Manoogian and Coach Michelle McGuire, the brothers were invited to participate in the first on Wednesday night at Santa Monica High School.

Organized on a whim by Santa Monica High Coach Liane Sato, the event gave 16 of the best players representing five area programs one last chance to showcase their skills before starting summer vacation. For the Pion brothers it also meant a unique opportunity to play on opposite sides of the net.

"I thought we were going to be on the same team, but they switched it up," said Drew, the only freshman on either squad. "It was fun playing against Chase for once."

Blue and gold teams were formed and each eight-man roster was a mix of players from the different schools. Manoogian and Chase Pion played on the gold team, piloted by Beverly Hills High Coach Jonathan Ramin, while Drew played for the blue, coached by McGuire. 

"If I had my choice I would've taken him on my team," McGuire joked, pointing to Chase.

The Pion brothers live in the Alphabet Streets and play for the .

Drew and the blue team won the first two games, 25-22, 25-23, but the gold team stormed back to sweep the last three, 25-16, 26-24, 15-9, giving junior Chase the last laugh in the short-lived sibling rivalry.

"It took us awhile to get going, but once we did we kept rolling," Chase said. "It's fun getting to know guys you normally play against."

McGuire was thrilled to be a part of the exhibition.

"You have to give all the credit to Lian [Sato] for putting this together," McGuire said. "She e-mailed to ask me if I wanted to coach and I was like 'Heck yeah!' She knows the game really well and obviously the teams were evenly matched. It was a good send-off for the seniors."

Although no official stats were kept, each brother contributed mightily to his team's success. Chase ran gold's offense expertly, setting Manoogian and Santa Monica senior outside hitter Charles Levy repeatedly for thunderous spikes.

"Chase is a smart setter," said Levy, who is headed for UC Santa Barbara. "He reads the floor well and gets it to whoever has the hot hand."

Rounding out the gold team were Trevor Pye and Eric Barber of Santa Monica, Alex Aguilera of Culver City, Jake Hurwitz of Crossroads and Joshua Johnson of Beverly Hills.

Drew impressed his older blue squad teammates, especially Santa Monica senior opposite hitter Jack Cramer, who played against the Pions in the Vikings' Southern Section Division 4 semifinal victory over Windward. 

"I don't play club, so I hadn't played with any of those guys before except for [Samo teammate] Julian Hess," Cramer said. "Drew was doing everything out there. He was setting, hitting, blocking--he really made an impact on the game."

Rounding out the blue team were Daniel Tabariai and Jason Nik of Beverly Hills, Andy Aguila and Kekoa Mathews of Culver City and Taylor Moldo of Crossroads. 

Both Pions admitted it was a little strange looking across the net on serves to see their brother staring back at them. On one point in the fourth set, Drew leaped high for a spike only to be roofed by Chase and Pye. Not to be outdone, Drew dug his brother's dump attempt and eventually hit through Chase's block later in the set.

"It definitely helps knowing his game and what he likes to do," Chase said with a grin. "Then again, he knows my game too."