Harvard-Westlake prepares, as best it can, for state volleyball finals
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Harvard-Westlake Coach Adam Black admitted he doesn’t know too much about the San Francisco Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep team the Wolverines will play in the Division III state finals at 2 p.m. Saturday at San Jose State.
Following his team’s sweeping victory over second-seeded Laguna Beach in a Southern California Regional final on Tuesday, Black said the only way he could prepare his team is by making sure it will play to the best of its abilities.
‘It’s tough to know another team’s strengths when you’ve never played or seen them before,’ said Black, who has led the Wolverines to the state finals for the first time since 2001 in his first year at the helm. ‘It’s kind of like going into the unknown for us, but we know they’ll be a really good team just like us.’
If Black wanted some advice about how to prepare for the state finals, he wouldn’t have found much help from Laguna Beach Coach Lance Stewart, who still sees the state championships as somewhat unpredictable even though he’s coached there four times.
‘Last year, we were heavy favorites and we lost,’ Stewart said. ‘You just don’t know with kids at this stage how they’ll respond and how they’ll react playing in a match like that.’
Granted, I don’t cover volleyball games on a daily basis, but Harvard-Westlake is probably the best team I’ve ever seen play. I know Mira Costa and maybe even Redondo and Lakewood could be better, but don’t be surprised if the Wolverines bring home the program’s fourth state championship this weekend.
-- Austin Knoblauch
