Boys’ Volleyball Preview: Flintridge Prep looks to maintain Prep League mastery
After a couple of weeks of barely being able to put together enough players to hold a practice, Flintridge Prep boys’ volleyball coach Sean Beattie finally saw his remaining athletes report to duty.
A group of players had just finished competing on the soccer and basketball teams. The arrivals allowed Beattie to start constructing a lineup to put the Rebels in position to win a sixth consecutive Prep League championship.
“Things are looking very promising and it’s always good to get the guys back ready to play some volleyball,” said Beattie, whose team fell to Oxnard in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division III playoffs last season. “We graduated a chunk of our players, but I still believe we are in a good spot with having an experienced group of players and a little more depth.
“We’ve been meshing well and that gets everybody on the same page. We have a lot of people in different areas who can contribute. It’s just a matter of can we get back to the level we were at last year?”
Flintridge Prep will bring back junior outside AJ Nicassio, who finished with 269 kills and 285 digs last season en route to being named the league’s most valuable player and earning a spot on the All-Area first team. Nicassio will be joined by senior setter Tim Treinen, senior opposite Majeed Ismail and senior middle blockers Garrett Gaines and James Ayers.
“The team will lean a bit on AJ,” said Beattie, whose team will remain in Division III. “It’s going to come down to being healthy and staying consistent. We are senior-heavy, so we’ll look to try to take advantage of that and make a good run.”
La Cañada tied for third with Gabrielino in the Rio Hondo League and qualified for the Division II playoffs last season. The Spartans lost to Quartz Hill in the first round.
Things will look different at La Cañada, which will now be in Division III. The Spartans brought in Rebecca Sanchez to take over the coaching responsibilities. Sanchez replaces Carrie Saks and David Simonyan.
La Cañada will bring back senior setters/outside hitters Nolan Sheow and James Gras, senior outside hitter Chiron Burl and junior middle blocker/outside hitter Noah Ford.
“I see a lot of potential and they know what I expect,” Sanchez said. “It’s just a matter of putting the pieces together and I think we can do well in league and make the playoffs.”
St. Francis finished seventh in the difficult Mission League last season and didn’t qualify for the Division II playoffs. The Golden Knights, who will stay in Division II, last qualified for the playoffs in 2012.
Though St. Francis lost All-Area and all-league honoree Sean Stephen (264 kills) to graduation, veteran coach Mark Frazee will have a few experienced players looking to help the Golden Knights escape the league’s basement.
St. Francis will return junior setter Joey Thompson, who collected 384 assists and was bestowed with All-Area recognition last season. Also looking to contribute for the Golden Knights are senior opposite hitters Michael Dumansky and Gage Pearson and senior outside hitter David Johnson.
“We won’t be nearly as predictable because we’ll spread the ball around more,” Frazee said. “We want everybody on the court to be totally involved.”
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
