It exists, and for the second time is as many years, it belongs to the Willow Glen boys volleyball team.

The Tiki Award was created in 2004 as an annual award presented to the winner of the Willow Glen-Leland volleyball match. "It was handcrafted by [Willow Glen coach Jef Wind] and currently is held by the Rams," says the Leland volleyball website.

What's more, the Rams have won it again.

Willow Glen took three straight games from the Chargers to win the Tiki Award in 2004, and the Rams did it again in 2005 when they won in four games in a match last Thursday evening at Leland.

Senior outside hitter Nick Baker buried 12 kills to lead the Rams to a 25-22, 19-25, 25-14, 25-21 win over the Chargers.

The win for Willow Glen was especially impressive considering the fact that Leland went into the match with a 12-0 record and a firm hold on first place in the Mt. Hamilton Division of the Blossom Valley Athletic League.

Leland still leads the division, but its record slipped with the loss to Willow Glen. The Chargers were able to fight back with a win over Prospect, though, to move to 13-1 in league play and to 21-8 overall.

The Rams, meanwhile, won twice last week to improve to 10-3 in the division and to 15-10 for the year as they shoot for a berth in the Central Coast Section playoffs.

The Rams, who opened the week with a 25-8, 25-10, 25-19 win over Gunderson thanks to a seven kill effort by senior middle blocker Alex Pelayo, trail Leland and Leigh (11-3 in league, 15-7 overall) in the division standings with just one week remaining in the regular season.

Willow Glen closes out league play with home matches against Oak Grove on May 3 and Westmont on May 5 before heading to Leigh on May 6. Leland, meanwhile, visits Leigh on May 3 and Branham on May 5. All matches begin at 6 p.m.

Leland can clinch the league championship with just one win in its final two matches. Leigh can claim the crown with wins over both Leland and Willow Glen.

The Rams, though, have to win all three of their matches and hope for Leland to lose twice just to create a first-place tie.

Rams run well

Marcos Corona and Mohamed Abdalla finished among the best runners in the Central Coast Section when they placed at the CCS Top 8 Track and Field Classic held April 22 at Los Gatos High School.

Corona, a sophomore, was second in the varsity 1,600-meter run in 4:22.39. He finished just behind Ben Sitler of St. Francis, first in 4:21.79. Abdalla, a freshman, was sixth in 4:31.49.

"Marcos ran an outstanding race, and is becoming tougher and more competitive with each race," said Willow Glen distance coach Victor Santamaria. "He's extremely competitive, and is just barely getting to know just how much ability he has."

The two Rams reversed roles in the 3,200 meters. Abdalla ran 9:46.44 to finish second to Harbor's Aaron Feldman (9:42.10) and Corona raced home in fifth in 9:51.46.

"Mohamed gave an example of his great running ability by coming back after the 1,600 and placing second 3,200, with a personal best mark of 9:46," said Santamaria. "He ran an exceptional race. Mohamed's mark places him among the top-10 in CCS for this event."

Willow Glen senior Michael Morales sprinted to a 10th-place finish in the 200 meters in 24.07 and sophomore Daniel Diaz was ninth in the frosh-soph 800 meters in 2:11.92.

Abdul Kamari of Willow Glen Middle School finished 19th in 5:48.41 in a special middle school mile race held at the CCS Top 8 meet.

"Marcos Corona has established himself as one of the top milers in CCS," said Santamaria. "He's currently ranked No. 2 in the 1,600 based upon his 4:20 mark that he ran when he won the event at the Hampton Phillips Invitational."

Rams get even

Junior hurler Michele McCollum whirled a 5-hit shutout to lead the Willow Glen girls softball team to a 3-0 win over Del Mar last week. The victory helped the Rams pull even at 5-5 in the Santa Teresa Division of the BVAL.

The Rams rallied for three runs in the home half of the first inning, and that's all McCollum needed as she threw goose eggs at the Dons for seven innings.

Junior Aurora Donnelly ripped two hits to lead a 5-hit attack for the Rams in the win.

Willow Glen, 12-7 for the year, will try to pull over the .500 mark this week, visiting Evergreen Valley (9-2 in league) on May 3 and hosting Independence (5-2) on May 5. Games begin at 3:30 p.m.