Inaugural volleyball club camp takes learning to higher level

LOS ANGELES — Even after recording hundreds of kills and helping the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy volleyball team achieve plenty of success the past two seasons, junior outside hitter Kayla Lund found a minor flaw in an important facet of her game

It was detected in her float serve. Lund, a reigning All-Area first-team selection, discovered she wasn’t properly using the base of her hand to put enough strength into striking the ball over the net.

Lund was one of about 75 volleyball players on hand to receive instruction from numerous college volleyball coaches during the inaugural San Gabriel Elite and Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy College Coaches Camp at the San Gabriel Valley Elite Club.

Lund worked with University of Washington first-year women’s volleyball Coach Keegan Cook on improving her serving technique. She soaked up the pointers before showing marked improvement.

“It’s just about the simplest of things,” said Lund, who finished with 566 total kills, 245 digs, a team-best 54 aces and 50 blocks last season. “Anything you can learn from these collegiate coaches can help make a difference in your game. I’m here to get better.

“It’s a chance to be critiqued in different skills. You are receiving great advice from a lot of people who really understand the game.”

The event, which began Friday and ended Sunday, is geared for high school girls’ volleyball players to receive more in-depth knowledge pertaining to various drills from college coaches at the NCAA Division I, II and III and National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics levels. In addition, the coaches provide them insight with respect to the recruitment process. Coaches from UCLA, University of Redlands, California Lutheran, Baylor and other higher institutions were part of the clinic.

The camp mostly attracted players from Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, Burbank, Los Angeles and parts of the San Gabriel Valley.

Burroughs High sophomore setter Payton Jensen, who helped the Indians qualify for the playoffs last season, came to the camp to polish several skills.

“For me, it’s more about learning more about ball and court awareness,” said Jensen, who like Lund, is a member of the San Gabriel Elite Club. “Those things are so important in a match and can make a difference.

“I’m here to take it all in and you get a better idea of what it takes to do well in college. It’s an opportunity to learn and grow at the same time.”

Stevie Mussie, an assistant at defending Division I champion Penn State after holding the same position at Virginia and North Carolina State, attended the clinic before attending a similar event in Seattle.

“You teach them about a certain skill and you hope they continue to practice it,” said Mussie, a former All-Pacific 10 Conference first-team honoree. “You see that they want to someday play at the college level.

“It’s also a great opportunity for them to meet the coaches at the different levels.”

Flintridge Sacred Heart Coach Ernest Banaag, a former All-Area Girls’ Volleyball Coach of the Year, said the club began to hatch the idea of holding a clinic involving collegiate coaches in 2013.

Banaag, who is also a San Gabriel Valley Elite Club coach, said volleyball continues to soar in popularity across the nation.

“You are seeing people play at all of the different levels,” said Banaag, who led the Tologs to a second-place finish in the Mission League last season after splitting the title in 2013. “A lot of the college coaches today are going to the club tournaments.

“This camp is something a bit different in that the players can not only practice the different drills but also get a bit of a feeling toward what college will be like.”