By Ed Piper
He's a sky captain. He can fly. Ben Salmon, hitter-blocker for the La Jolla varsity volleyball team, is 6'7". He's only a sophomore. He stands eye-to-eye--and above--to a tall sportswriter.
In some recent games, at home against Westview April 28 and at St. Augustine in the CIF playoffs Tues., May 9, the fish man (referring to his name) showed his skills by leaping, blocking, hitting at the net and otherwise playing his role in Coach Dave Jones' starting rotation.
Interestingly, Ben lived in Milan, Italy, with his family before moving to the La Jolla area. In Milan, he said he couldn't play volleyball because a health check of some kind was required, and he didn't have it.
Asked how his Italian is, he said, "Good." His mother is Italian and worked there and in Germany as a translator in three languages: Italian, German, and English. (I didn't ask him how his German is.)
Salmon shared that he has ventricular tachycardia, a heart condition. "I do what I like, and I enjoy it," he said when asked about any restrictions.
The Vikings reached the Division 2 quarterfinals.
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