Girls’ Volleyball Preview: Hope fuels local aspirations
Hope seems a common thread that runs through the Crescenta Valley High, Flintridge Prep, Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, Glendale, Glendale Adventist Academy, Holy Family, Hoover and St. Monica Academy girls’ volleyball teams as the season gets underway.
While some squads are expecting bounce-back seasons, others are looking to maintain their spot among atop their respective leagues, while three programs are welcoming new coaches.
Since Ernest Banaag took over at Flintridge Sacred Heart in 2012, the Tologs have been competitive and playoff-bound.
While Banaag expects the former, the latter will be a challenge in the formidable Mission League a year after Flintridge Sacred Heart posted a 24-10 record and 5-3 mark in league to take second and advance to the postseason.
Banaag graduated four seniors, including a perhaps once-in-a-generation talent in outside hitter Kayla Lund, the reigning two-time All-Area Girls’ Volleyball Player of the Year, who’s taking her killer attitude to the University of Pittsburgh.
“The realistic expectation is just continuing the high standards and high quality of volleyball at Sacred Heart,” Banaag said. “We can’t individually replace Kayla - that’s just not possible. However, as a team, the entire program is trying to replace her. If we’re going to be competitive, which is our goal, this is going to have to be a team effort.”
One of the main go-tos this season was supposed to be outside hitter Ellis DeJardin. The senior was an All-Area first-team choice and tallied 463 kills, 392 assists, 213 digs and 40 aces in 2016.
DeJardin’s start date is in limbo after the Yale-committed player fractured her ankle during the summer. Banaag is hopeful his No. 1 attacker will be back in late September.
The injury and other factors have led to a shuffle in the line-up as defensive specialists Emily Smith (senior) and Megan Lund (junior) have been moved to the front row.
Banaag’s defense is still expected to be strong with senior Maddie Pernecky and University of Holy Cross-bound Courtney Rasic returning. The maturation of Flintridge Sacred Heart’s offense will revolve around the passing of senior Cate Doud, who will handle setter duties.
Despite a coaching change, there’s excitement at Crescenta Valley as Travis Dancer is taking over as head coach in place of Kevin Boyke.
Last season, the Falcons finished 17-12 and 10-4 within the Pacific League to take third and advance to the CIF Southern Section Division IV playoffs, where they lost in the first round.
“We are approaching the 2017 [season] with high hopes of challenging for [a] league title,” Dancer said. “The girls had a very productive summer and keyed in on several issues that we have to eliminate for the title run.”
Five of Dancer’s starters are upperclassmen as senior Marley Gang is in her second season at outside hitter and junior Teny Noordermeer is also in year No. 2 at middle hitter.
Junior outside hitter Maya Lightfoot, junior middle hitter Kaitlyn Kristen, sophomore libero Lizzy Kermen and junior setter Madison Bloohm are making their varsity debuts.
Youth will be en vogue this fall at Flintridge Prep as veteran coach Sean Beattie’s team of 14 players consists of only three seniors.
Last season, Flintridge Prep finished 10-15-1 and 4-8 within the fierce Prep League to take fifth place and miss the postseason. While the record isn’t great, the Rebels showed plenty of progress in winning seven more matches than the previous season while posting the most victories for the program since 2009.
“We have a really good young core of players this year,” Beattie said. “We know that the Prep League is always going to be tough with Mayfield and Westridge and Chadwick, but we’ve set our goals on gaining experience, improving and doing better than last year.”
Beattie returns five starters in his 6-2 scheme, including the one-two offensive punch of junior opposite hitter Courtney Johnson (team-leading 195 kills, 156 digs and 37 aces) and sophomore outside hitter Jada Gritton (191 kills, 155 digs and 35 aces).
Beattie is also excited about sophomore outside hitter Ellen Chang. Last season, Chang tallied 138 kills, 190 digs and 36 aces.
In the middle of Flintridge Prep’s attack is senior setter Jade Whaley, a third-year varsity player. Whaley totaled 468 digs, 91 digs and 26 aces last season.
Glendale welcomes back a familiar face in Jeffrey Thai, a former junior varsity coach, to take over for the school’s most successful coach this century in Ta’ase Mose.
Thai has an advantage in that he’s worked with about half the team as a coach at Star Volleyball Club in Eagle Rock along with Mose.
Last season, a very green Glendale squad finished 7-19 last year with a 5-9 mark within the Pacific League, which translated into a sixth-place finish and no postseason berth.
That last fact is something Thai is looking to remedy.
“Last year was the first year in years that they didn’t make it,” Thai said. “So, our main goal is to get back to CIF.”
Thai is hoping that senior captain and setter Leila Manaois, senior libero Angela Salazar and junior outside hitter Saku Yoshioka can lead the Nitros back to the playoffs.
Last season didn’t turn out too well for Glendale Adventist, which finished 8-8 and 3-5 in its first year in the Liberty League to tie for third place and miss the postseason.
“We were in a much harder league last year and I was happy that we tied for third,” Glendale Adventist coach Gared Luquet said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t make the playoffs and it just came down to a lack of communication in some games and little mistakes. It was a bit of an adjustment last year and now I think we can be a strong contender to win league.”
The Cougars open with 13 players and a few standouts.
Luquet will look to senior Camille Pizzaro to pace the defense at libero, while talented outside hitter Paige Singleton may be due for a big senior year. One non-senior who will play a big role is junior Liana Salvador.
Though not a big squad, Holy Family doesn’t lack for skill or experience.
Of the Gaels’ 10 players, eight are returners off a squad that finished 7-18 and 3-7 in the Horizon League to place fourth and miss the postseason.
“This year, we are really looking forward to a strong finish,” Holy Family coach Robert Bringas said. “The girls have made a true commitment to the team and our goal of CIF playoffs by participating in summer league this year.”
Bringas is expecting leadership out of his two senior captains in setters Melanie Ibarra (197 assists, 187 digs and 45 aces) and Rosy Castro (100 digs and 88 assists).
Sophomore Meghann Velasquez, the team’s most valuable player last season, is back and will split time at outside hitter and defensive specialist after totaling 407 digs, 64 kills and 42 aces last season. Senior Isaeblla Peregrino is also returning at middle blocker after tallying 71 kills and 41 blocks.
Holy Family’s biggest challengers in league will likely be reigning champion Bishop Conaty-Loretto and Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Though in his first year, Hoover High girls’ volleyball coach Daniel Seranian is hardly new. Seranian previously coached the girls’ freshman team and was in charge of the boys last spring.
This season, Seranian will have between eight and nine players and is hoping for more success as last year’s team finished 2-21-1 and winless in the Pacific League.
“Some things I’d like to see happen are more wins than last year, that’s for certain,” Seranian said. “I would like to see everyone get along. There wasn’t a great bond and a lot of school drama went into practices and games, which is very unhealthy.”
Perhaps Emily Nadimyan is Hoover’s top returner as the sophomore can play libero and setter. Freshman Tatyana Davidian has impressed Serarnian enough to earn a spot, while junior Selena Mirabian is a wild card in the program.
Despite near wholesale changes to the roster in 2016, St. Monica Academy maintained the area’s longest league winning streak.
Last season, the Crusaders won their seventh consecutive International League title by extending their streak to 68 straight league victories as St. Monica finished 18-8 and 10-0 in league. Change, though, hurt the Crusaders as the 2015 CIF Southern Section Division X champions were moved up to Division IX last season and were ousted in the first round of the playoffs.
Though St. Monica graduated league most valuable player Molly Hagan, nearly the rest of the squad is back as the Crusaders will have 14 or 15 players.
“We have a lot of newbies and returners and they’ve been pretty good in practice,” St. Monica coach Darren Bradley said. “I like that we have a lot of freshmen and sophomores and we have a new assistant too.”
Bradley welcomes back the program’s greatest player in Caitlin Hall as his assistant after Hall concluded her collegiate career at Gonzaga. Hall led the Crusaders to the their first championship match appearance in 2012 and will have a strong group to work with.
Junior middle hitter Grace Brady is back after a league first-team nod last season as is league second-team junior opposite Anna Urrea. Bradley is also high on a pair of freshmen in Sarah Iglesias and Elizabeth McCall.
St. Monica Academy will again call New Revelations Baptist Church gym in Pasadena its home court.
