Girls’ volleyball preview: La Cañada looks to keep rolling
Behind the play of senior outside hitter Chloe Kerstein, the All-Area Player of the Year, the La Cañada High girls’ volleyball team enjoyed a wealth of success in 2017.
But Kerstein graduated and the Spartans will look to other players to step up and carry the team.
At Flintridge Sacred Heart, it will be looking to return to the CIF Southern Section playoffs, while Flintridge Prep hopes to turn the corner and return to the postseason.
Here is a closer look at the teams.
LA CAÑADA
Kerstein, now at Pomona-Pitzer College after earning All-CIF and league player of the year honors, led the team with 383 kills to go along with 293 digs and 57 aces.
The Spartans also lost some ley players to graduation as well.
“It’s always hard to replace kids like that, especially when some of them were starters for us the last three years,” La Cañada coach Chris Sullivan said. “What you lose also is the leadership qualities that they brought.
“But luckily we have a young core that is going to stay intact for a few years. This is also a very hard working group and they motivate themselves to get better.”
The Spartans won the Rio Hondo League title and advanced to the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section playoffs, both for the first time since 2012. La Cañada finished 22-7 and 9-1 in league.
It was a big improvement for the Spartans, who went 11-17 and 6-4 in the Rio Hondo League to tie for third the previous season.
Two key returning all-league players for the Spartans are junior outside hitter Emily Weirick and junior middle blocker Claire Kevorkian. Last season, Weirick had 342 kills, 60 aces and 310 digs and Kevorkian led the way in blocks (54) and was third in kills (162).
Other key returners are junior setter Alex Gates, senior middle blocker Kimberly Callister, sophomore outside hitter Maya White and sophomore defensive specialist/libero Claire Saydh.
A newcomer who could make an impact is freshmen outside hitter Olivia Toland.
In the Spartans’ quest to win a second straight league title, Sullivan expects the competition to be fierce.
“We definitely want to build on that momentum that we had from last season,” Sullivan said. “We like the effort and all the hard work that it took us to get there. But that was that team last year and this is the team this year.
“I expect tough competition from all over our league. At a recent scrimmage tournament that we went to, South Pasadena looked good, Monrovia looked good and San Marino is going to be a good competitor as well.”
FLINTRIDGE SACRED HEART ACADEMY
The Tologs qualified for the Division I playoffs after placing fourth in the Mission League and lost to Redondo Union in the first round. They will now be in the Division I/II pool.
Flintridge Sacred Heart will bring back plenty of talent, including senior outside hitter Megan Lund, senior libero Ryan Dubb and senior middle blockers Julia Powers and Skylar Bowyer. Lund helped the Tologs win 20 matches and recorded a team-high 384 kills and added 225 digs en route to being named to the All-Area first team.
“I definitely like our lineup; we’re not tall, but we are dynamic,” Flintridge Sacred Heart coach Ernest Banaag said. “I think we’ll do better than last year.
“We have some younger players who could make an impact. Marymount will be the favorite to win our league again, but you’ll see us be competitive.”
FLINTRIDGE PREP
Though the Rebels didn’t qualify for the playoffs last season, Flintridge Prep coach Sean Beattie sees them turning the corner.
Flintridge Prep finished fifth in the Prep League in 2017. However, the building Rebels didn’t lose any starters to graduation, providing Beattie with hope the Rebels can put things together.
“That will be a big plus in not losing any starters,” said Beattie, whose team will stay in Division VI. “We feel like we have players who can step in and handle any role given to them.
“It’s probably going to be one of the most talented teams I’ve had in the last 15 years. On the other hand, it will be one of the toughest leagues in the last 10 years. We’ll see how things pan out.”
Leading the charge for the Rebels will be senior opposite Courtney Johnson, junior outside hitter Jada Gritton and junior libero Ellen Chang. Johnson contributed 149 digs and 142 kills and picked up All-Area accolades last season.
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