FALL SPORTS NOTEBOOK : Westlake Spoils a Royal Tradition

In the beginning, there were two constants to girls volleyball in the Marmonte League.

One held that Royal was the class of the Marmonte League. During the past eight years, the Highlanders have won or tied for the league championship.

The other: Westlake would be nowhere to be found come playoff time.

True to form, Royal again tied for the Marmonte title and is seeded fourth in the Southern Section 2-A playoffs that begin tonight.

That’s where tradition ends. The other Marmonte co-champion is Westlake, which snapped Royal’s 29-match win streak in the final match of the season to earn a share of the championship.

The Warriors are seeded second and will probably play either top-seeded Nordhoff or Royal in the finals if they can survive bracket play.

This was supposed to be the year that Bob Ferguson’s Royal team would lose its hold on Marmonte League supremacy.

Royal had lost seven seniors from the team that reached the semifinals last year before losing to Nordhoff.

The winning continued this season, however, because of outstanding play from setters Lisa Vesey and Tiffany Neser and middle hitter Julie MacLean.

They are all products of a strong Royal system that begins developing fundamentally sound players at Hillside Junior High, where Ferguson is the athletic director.

“All of the P. E. teachers at Hillside have played or coached volleyball,” Ferguson said. “We teach the kids fundamentals. We don’t teach jungleball at Hillside.”

Royal will try to continue the winning tradition when the Highlanders play host to Santa Maria today at 3:15 at Royal.

Few people in September envisioned the possibility of a Marmonte League matchup in the Southern Section final. Westlake Coach Dave Rubio was among the doubters.

“I don’t know the reasons why we’re seeded so high,” Rubio said. “We weren’t ranked all year long, then we came along and beat Royal.”

And things may never be the same in the Marmonte League.

Three years ago, Rubio inherited a Westlake team that had never made it to postseason play. The results were predictable: three wins.

But after another forgetable season came a turnaround.

“I found a core of girls that fell in love with volleyball,” Rubio said. “And I was fortunate enough that the younger girls became friends, and volleyball became a social thing for them, too.

“I think if they like what they’re doing, they’ll do it better.”

That certainly has held true in the last two seasons. Last year, the Warriors reached the playoffs with a 7-5 record but lost in the first round to eventual champion Nordhoff.

The playoff appearance put Westlake over the hump, and the Warriors came into this season thinking they were the league favorites.

Rubio set lofty goals for a team that would start only two seniors: a league championship and a Southern Section title.

One down, one to go.

Westlake will start two seniors, three juniors and a sophomore today in its first-round match against Mary Star of the Sea at 3:15 p.m. at Cerritos College.

The Southern Section 4-A volleyball playoffs also begin tonight. The most interesting first-round match features Chaminade against Marymount at 7:30 at Chaminade.

Chaminade, arguably the best in the Valley-area, breezed through the San Fernando Valley League without a loss and finished the regular season ranked fourth in the Southern Section.

Marymount, which finished third in the Sunshine League, doesn’t figure to be a pushover. Its league features top-seeded Marlborough and third-seeded Notre Dame Academy.

Royal volleyball Coach Bob Ferguson’s wife, Sandy, has coached the Royal JV to five consecutive league titles. “I met her on the beach playing volleyball,” said Ferguson, who attended Pepperdine. “She was the best setter on the beach. I knew when I saw her that I had to have her. Otherwise, I never would have seen the ball.”

The Simi Valley and Saugus boys teams and the Hart and Thousand Oaks girls teams will be the Valley-area’s top representatives at the Southern Section Cross-Country prelims that will be held Saturday at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut.

The Southern Section final will be held on the same course Nov. 16.

Briefly

Attention Valley-area soccer coaches: Teams are still needed to fill out the field for the Simi Valley boys varsity tournament. . . Water polo pairings (all games 3 p.m.): 3-A--Royal, the first place team from the Marmonte League plays host to Santa Barbara, third in the Channel League; Thousand Oaks (second, Marmonte) plays host to Dos Pueblos (second, Channel); Westlake (third, Marmonte) will play Gahr (first, San Gabriel Valley) at Cerritos High; Crespi (third, Del Rey) at Buena (first, Channel). . . . Volleyball pairings: 4-A--Burroughs of Burbank, the second place team from the Foothill League is at Notre Dame Academy, the second place team from the Sunshine League; Louisville (second, San Fernando Valley) plays host to Beverly Hills (second, Ocean); Bell-Jeff (third, San Fernando Valley) at Marlborough (first, Sunshine); Burbank (third, Foothill) at Arcadia (first, Pacific). 2-A--Simi Valley (third, Marmonte) at El Monte (first, Mission Valley); Calabasas (second, Frontier) plays host to St. Joseph (second, Los Padres). 1-A--L.A. Lutheran (second, Alpha) at Whittier Christian (second, Olympic)

Times staff writer David Morgan contributed to this notebook.