Kahl ready for next level

For the fourth consecutive year, the Laguna Beach High boys’ volleyball team fell short of a CIF Southern Section Division II championship, after a seasonlong battle to the quarterfinals.

It wasn’t the way four-year varsity player and senior Mike Kahl hoped to wrap up his volleyball career at Laguna, but nothing will discourage him from his pursuit of playing at a higher level.

He will leave the Breakers to join the Pepperdine Waves in Malibu.

“The spark really started when my dad took me to my first volleyball match at Pepperdine,” Kahl said. “From that moment on, I knew I wanted to play there, and at the college level.”

Kahl shares an affinity for volleyball with both his dad and sister Lexi, who helped lead her team, Roxy, to a gold medal in the Junior Olympics.

His dad Bruce, who also played for Pepperdine University, introduced his son to the sport when he was about 8.

“I really became interested [in volleyball] after I watched the Victoria Beach four-man tournament one Labor Day weekend,” he said.

Kahl began playing club volleyball in fifth grade, and since then has been successful with many teams. He earned a bronze medal with the Laguna Beach 14s club, and later switched to Balboa Bay Volleyball Club, where he picked up two more bronze medals in 17s and 18s.

He has also won three bronze medals in the Junior Olympics in recent years, and said his team is hoping for gold this season.

Kahl has faced both physical and mental challenges through his volleyball career, but has managed to remain positive.

At 5-foot-11, he said his height has always been an issue for him on the court.

“I have always tried to work harder than everyone [to compensate for his height] to earn a spot on my teams,” he said. “I think I’m good at my jump-serving and playing defense — I’m a good hitter.”

He looks up to AVP player, Brian Lewis, who he said never lets his shortcomings affect him.

“He’s dominated the AVP tours and always tries hard with whoever he plays with,” he said.

Lewis has won eight domestic beach titles with five different partners. He was recently named the 11th player to achieve the $1 million mark in career winnings.

To stay on top of his game, Kahl practices every day and spends his weekends playing beach volleyball.

He said the loss to Dos Pueblos in the quarterfinals of the 2008 season was one of the most discouraging moments for him in the past four years.

“It was a big let down because I thought my team was a championship team,” he said. “But you lose some and win some, and I learned a lot from my teammates and coaches.”

He even cherishes the memory of one defeat.

“Losing a close battle with Newport [Harbor High] was really fun, and we accomplished a lot,” he said.

Kahl plans to take all of his experiences — good and bad — and use them to his advantage at the college level and beyond.

He plans to major in business, but will go to college with an open mind.

“I’ll see where God leads me,” he said.