Sea Kings’ Schriber Packing a Big Punch

Tracy Schriber understands why opponents are usually smiling back at her when she looks across the volleyball net.

They would seem to have every reason to.

In a sport where height and power are precious commodities, Schriber often is overlooked and underestimated by her opponents.

When you’re 5 feet 5 and playing outside hitter, you’re usually a perfect target for a well-placed kill spike.

But not Schriber.

She has been dealing more than her share of bumps and thumps on the volleyball court this season. She’s averaging 14 kills per match, and her defensive and passing skills are among the main reasons Corona del Mar is the top-seeded team in the Southern Section 5-A playoffs.

“When you’re small, you have to stay on your toes,” said Schriber, a third-year starter. “Size is such a big advantage in this sport. There’s no way you can go out there and play like a little person.”

She has overcome a size disadvantage on the soccer field too, earning first-team All-Sea View League honors at forward since her freshman year.

“Soccer is just like volleyball,” she said. “When I get out there, I’m an animal. I’m little and petite-looking, but I love to get out there and push people around. People definitely underestimate me in soccer.”

Schriber has stood tall this season for the Sea Kings’ volleyball team. They’re 18-1 and ranked No. 1 in Orange County and fourth nationally by Volleyball Monthly.

She and Lara Carlsen, a 5-11 middle blocker, and Prentice Perkins, a 5-10 setter, have been the nucleus of this year’s team.

Dale Flickinger, Corona del Mar’s interim coach, found out how valuable Schriber was early in the season, after she sprained her ankle in a five-game loss to La Habra in the Orange County Championships in September.

“We just shattered,” Schriber said. “I was so mad. I don’t even want to think about it.”

But Schriber’s injury wasn’t serious, and she returned to the lineup a few days later. She has avoided injury since, and Corona del Mar has won 16 consecutive matches.

“We still haven’t played to our full potential,” Schriber said. “We’ve only reached 80%. But with everything that has been going on with this team, I think we’re doing pretty well.”

Schriber and her teammates have played through controversy.

Two weeks before the season began, the Sea Kings were coached by Charlie Brande. But Brande resigned in the wake of an investigation by the Southern Section office. A Nov. 28 hearing has been set for Brande, who allegedly violated section rules by coaching high school players in the off-season.

The Sea Kings practiced on their own until Flickinger was hired a week before the season started.

“We had a hard, hard time back then,” Schriber said. “We had a bad week at the start of the season. But everything has gone well since. We’re starting to pull together.

“It was a tough adjustment. We had been working hard for Charlie for several years, then we lose him our senior year.”

Schriber said the Sea Kings have an extra incentive to win the section championship this season. It has been 12 years since they have done so.

“We don’t want to be cocky about any of this,” Schriber said. “We know that if we make one slip, we aren’t going to win.”

SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS: GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL

Defending Champions--5-A: Mira Costa; 4-A: Simi Valley Royal; 3-A: La Habra; 2-A: San Luis Obispo; 1-A: Brentwood; Small schools: Palos Verdes Chadwick.

Top Teams--5-A: Corona del Mar, Laguna Beach, El Toro, Capistrano Valley, Mira Costa, St. Joseph; 4-A: Cypress, Edison, Esperanza, Fountain Valley, Long Beach Jordan, Marina; 3-A: Alta Loma, La Habra, El Modena, Rim of the World, Sunny Hills; 2-A: Arroyo Grande, San Luis Obispo, Valencia; 1-A: Brentwood, Capistrano Valley Christian, Desert, Windward; Small schools: Boron, Coast Union.

Dark Horses: 5-A: Buena; 4-A: Gahr; 3-A: La Quinta, Pacifica; 2-A: Anaheim; 1-A: Whittier Christian; Small schools: St. Margaret’s.

Best Draw: Valencia (15-1) plays host to Hesperia (9-7) in a 2-A first-round game.

Worst Draws: Newport Harbor (13-5) plays Mira Costa (17-1) in a 5-A first-round game. Laguna Beach, which has a 2-1 record against El Toro this season, was seeded third in 5-A, and El Toro was seeded second.

Key Players: Lara Carlsen, Corona del Mar, one of the top middle blockers in the nation; Missy Clements, La Habra, a middle blocker who will lead one of the strongest front lines in 3-A; Marta Bickert, El Toro; Judy Jackson, Capistrano Valley; Ashley Wacholder, Laguna Beach; Marni Hichborn, El Modena.

Noteworthy: Historically, Corona del Mar hasn’t fared well in the section playoffs. The Sea Kings, the top-seeded team in the 5-A division, haven’t won the section title since 1978. They finished second to Gahr in 1984 but later avenged the loss in the State Division I finals.