FALL ’88 ALL-COUNTY TEAMS : GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL : Irvine’s Oden Remains at the Top of Her Class

To say Irvine High School’s Bev Oden is a great volleyball player is to invite looks labeled, “No kidding, Sherlock.”

To sit in a crowded gymnasium and watch her 6-foot 2-inch body explode up, then into a volleyball is to participate in a mass intake of breath.

And the college coach who gets Oden, The Times’ volleyball player of the year, will be a very happy person.

“There’s no question she’s the top recruit out there,” said Brian Gimmillaro, Cal State Long Beach coach. “She doesn’t have any weaknesses at all.”

John Dunning, University of Pacific coach, coached Bev’s sister, Elaina, and is rumored to have an inside track at getting her. So does Stanford, where Bev’s other sister, Kim, played.

“We want her very badly,” Dunning said.

South Coast, Southern Section and state tournament most valuable player--she had a record 25 kills in Irvine’s state final victory over Davis High--Oden doesn’t present a college a resume as much as a golden tablet.

“She’s the type of player who can step right in and make a team instantly better,” Dunning said. “All she has ever known is success.”

In her four seasons at Irvine, she has helped the school to three Southern Section finals and two Southern Section and state championships.

She consistently refuses to recognize herself as the player, pointing out that she plays on a great team.

“We have so many good players,” she said after the state final. “Everyone does their part.”

No doubt about it--Irvine’s Jenny Fu and Melinda Norton are Times’ all-county first-teamers. But Oden is no doubt the best among them. Why?

“Start with the fact that she’s 6-2, has big hands and is a great athlete,” Dunning said. “Add to that the fact that she has a 3.8 (grade point average) and that she comes from a great family.”

Oh, the family. Elaina led Pacific to NCAA championships. Kim was a standout at Stanford and a member of the U.S. Olympic team.

“You’ve got to believe that her genes have a lot to do with her success,” said Terry Killion, Nebraska assistant coach. “It’s also being able to bump the ball around as a kid with sisters who are top college players. That’s got to help.”

And help is on the way for some college when Bev Oden makes her decision. She says she hasn’t made her decision, “I’m just too busy to think much about it.”

FIRST TEAM

Setters Sienna Curci Sr. Newport Harbor Jenny Fu Sr. Irvine Hitters Marissa Hatchett Sr. Sunny Hills Melinda Norton Sr. Irvine Bev Oden Sr. Irvine Laurie Sawin Sr. Corona del Mar

SECOND TEAM

Setters Heidi Anderson Sr. Esperanza Tracy Endecavageh Sr. El Modena Hitters Aimee Achenbach Sr. Edison Deanna Doolittle Jr. Woodbridge Joli Eberhart Sr. Mater Dei Summer Sieg Sr. Laguna Beach