NO. 1 FOREVER : San Dieguito Is the Sole Owner of Section Boys’ Volleyball Titles

Creased gently in the folds of their high school scrapbooks, the newspapers rest somewhere between prom memorabilia and graduation announcements.

The newsprint is history. But when the San Dieguito Class of 1988 gathers for a look back 19 years from now, the players who won the first San Diego Section boys’ volleyball championship will be able to look to the clippings and reminisce.

Although girls have been competing for championship banners in volleyball since 1974, it wasn’t until last year that the San Diego Section of the California Interscholastic Federation officially sanctioned playoffs and a title match for boys.

Not that it was dormant before. According to one-time San Dieguito Coach Terry Calen, the Mustangs started a club team in 1984, three years after Poway, Mt. Carmel and Torrey Pines did so. In 1986, schools from the Palomar and Avocado leagues combined to form the North County League.

“It was the first year we competed and were recognized,” Calen said. “But until we had another league (other than the North County), CIF wouldn’t sanction playoffs and a championship for us.”

So they had their own unofficial championship. Poway won the first in 1986, San Dieguito took it in 1987. And, with other leagues now active in boys’ volleyball, San Dieguito defeated Poway for the first official banner a year later.

“It’s something you can tell your kids,” said junior Erik Sullivan, one of three current team members who also played last year.

Team member Wayde Gilliam knows he’ll look back on the event as a milestone.

“Right now, it just happened last year,” he said, “but in 20 years, the papers will say ‘Twenty years ago, it was the first banner in volleyball.’ It’ll be a neat feeling. It’s neat now, but it’ll be classic then.”

San Dieguito and Poway had met on four previous occasions during 1988, and each match went the full five games. Poway won three and took the Palomar title.

Never mind. As Calen bluntly put it: “We won the most important one.”

Senior captain Mike Knapick said every time he thinks about the title match, the energy begins to build just as it did then.

“I can still remember exactly how I felt at the time,” he said. “It’s one of those things you look back on, and the adrenaline just starts to flow.”

Even the coach enjoyed the novelty of the one-time event.

“To be the first champions of San Diego was fantastic,” Calen said. “It was great. To be the first, no one else can say that.”

And no one can say that the Mustangs are resting on past laurels.

San Dieguito is undefeated at the halfway mark of Palomar play (5-0) and has lost just once in nine matches, early to La Jolla. The Mustangs are 15-1 in league games, sweeping every match except against Mt. Carmel, which won once, 15-13.

All this despite heavy graduation losses. Senior power hitter Gilliam, middle blocker Sullivan and setter Knapick are the only returners to a team that lost eight players, including four of six starters. Not surprisingly, San Dieguito was overlooked as a preseason favorite.

“We’re a surprise because even though we’re the defending champs, we lost so many starters,” Calen said. “No one expected us to do anything this year.”

Two of Calen’s former starters--section player of the year Stace Lougeay and Jeff Zevely--are redshirting at UC Santa Barbara. Two others, Jeff Homer and Brock Halter, are playing at Palomar College.

“When you lose that many, you’re starting from scratch,” Calen said. “We relied on those four guys to do everything.”

Now the Mustang attack is more balanced.

“We’re more versatile,” Calen said. “More people can do more things. Erik is the leader, but we have other people we can count on to do things. We have a better defense and quicker players.”

Still, it is Sullivan (28 kills a game) who is the cornerstone. He plays beach volleyball to help him stay at the top of his game.

“We had the player of the year last year, and we probably have him again (in Sullivan),” Calen said. “He’s awesome.”

San Dieguito may be on an up cycle--”We’ve reached a point where we’ve peaked,” Knapick said--but it is more than a fluke that the winning has been carried this far, this long.

“I like this team because they’re all team players,” Calen said. “There’s not a selfish kid out here. They’re enthusiastic, they’re hungry to win, they stay excited and they’re intelligent.”

The Mustang starting six has a 3.8 grade-point average and the capacity to find a middle ground between all riled up and all too calm.

“You have to be both,” Knapick said. “You have to walk a fine line between intensity and being laid back. You have to get in the middle. We’ve been able to find that middle point where everyone’s playing at their best.”

Joining Gilliam, Sullivan and Knapick as the starting six are middle hitter Matt Fleming, outside hitter Chris Mansolillo and utility hitter Dan Coveny.

San Dieguito’s primary weakness is in its ability, rather in its inability to keep its high level of play against weaker teams.

“People as people have a tendency to take the easy way out,” Knapick said. “We sometimes play down to the competition.”

And everyone knows that repeating will be difficult, even though Calen says several of the top teams are a bit down this year.

“It’ll take luck to repeat,” Calen said. “We need some breaks, but we’re playing well enough now to do it. Originally, our goal was to go to playoffs, but now that we’ve done so well, we’ve modified that to winning the league championship.”