FALL SPORTS NOTEBOOK : Chaminade’s Heavenly Trio : Eagles Hoping to Wing it to Top of the Volleyball Ratings

Television producer Aaron Spelling would love the Chaminade girls’ volleyball team.

The main characters for the Eagles are three attractive young women. Two blondes and a brunette. They are resourceful, intelligent and work together to achieve their goals.

It may sound like just another rerun of “Charlie’s Angels,” but Chaminade Coach Mike Lynn is successfully reworking an old theme into one of the best and most exciting volleyball shows in town.

The Eagles, 11-2 and ranked sixth in the Southern Section 4-A Division, are soaring on the wings of seniors Daiva Tomkus, Kathy Ahl and Melissa Ingalls--the starring trio for a team that combines grace, speed and power to beat opponents into the ground.

Last weekend, Chaminade finished third at the prestigious Las Virgenes Tournament. The team’s only losses have been to Nordhoff, the top-ranked team in the 2-A Division, and Notre Dame Academy of Culver City, the 4-A Division’s No. 4 team.

“Until last year, other 4-A coaches told me that we were the laughing stock of the division,” Lynn said. “But the Chaminade program has taken off. We’re about a 1,000% better than we were last year.”

The main reason for the improvement is the maturation of Tomkus, a 6-1 middle blocker who has become one of the most highly recruited players in the country after spending a season with the Southern California Volleyball Club.

Like high school basketball players, the best way for volleyball players to gain exposure is to participate for teams that play against the best competition. The SCVC, which plays in tournaments from December through June, finished ninth in the 72-team national tournament in June at the UC Davis.

“Daiva really blossomed into a player at nationals,” SCVC Coach Marvin Hall said. “She went up against some of the top seniors and showed she could play with them. She has a lot of raw talent, but the thing that amazes the college coaches is her ability to pick things up so quickly. She’s also a leader--not a follower.”

When Tomkus isn’t spiking the ball, she’s helping set up outside hitters Ahl and Ingalls, giving the Eagles a triple threat on offense.

Ahl, a 5-7 lefthander with a 30-inch vertical jump, hits and serves with machine-like accuracy. Ingalls, a four-year starter in volleyball, basketball and softball with a 3.96 grade point average, has also drawn the attention of the college recruiters.

A second-round playoff loss to Arcadia ended Chaminade’s season last year. This year, the Eagles have a chance of finishing at the top of the ratings.

The Westlake girls’ tennis team did the Southern Section proud Tuesday when the Warriors defeated defending City Section champion Palisades in a match decided by a total games won count of 70-69.

Westlake, the defending Southern Section 3-A champion, was leading the match on points, 9-8, as the last two doubles teams battled it out. Palisades tied it when its No. 1 team of Jamie Alexander and Jennifer Norian defeated Westlake’s No. 3 team of Sandy Caulkins and Trina Novodocvky.

California Interscholastic Federation rules stipulate that if a match ends with the teams tied, the total games won will determine the winner.

“It was a real see-saw battle the entire match,” Westlake Coach Connie Flanderka said. “I’m very happy we beat a team as tough as Palisades. We needed a good tuneup before our next match.”

That match, one of the biggest of the year, is the Marmonte League showdown today at 2:15 between undefeated Westlake and undefeated Thousand Oaks at Thousand Oaks.

Last year, Thousand Oaks won the league championship, but Westlake won the 3-A title.

Seventy-five schools and more than 2,500 participants are expected to compete in the Bellarmine Cross Country Invitational on Saturday at Griffith Park. . . . Saugus’ Daren Stonerock broke his own course record by more than ten seconds last Saturday at the Sonora Invitational in Fullerton. Stonerock’s record of 14 minutes, 23 seconds helped Saugus defeat Simi Valley, the top-ranked Southern Section 4-A team. . . .When Chaminade defeated Brentwood, 10-9, Monday in girls tennis, Chaminade’s Sarah Eipe beat Brentwood’s No. 1, 2 and 3 singles players. Eipe’s scores were 6-1, 6-0 and 6-1. . . .Dain Hurst of the Royal water polo team had a three-game total of 17 goals in last weekend’s Villa Park tournament.