FALL ATHLETES OF THE YEAR : Injury-Free Carlsen Caps Her Volleyball Season With a Flourish

Lara Carlsen had a modest goal for the 1990 girls’ volleyball season.

“I just wanted to get through the year without getting injured,” she said.

Carlsen did more than just stay injury-free this season. She led Corona del Mar (28-1) to the State Division I title and the Southern Section 5-A championship, and is The Times Orange County girls’ volleyball player of the year.

But the middle blocker paid some dues in the training room before enjoying success on the court. She made the varsity as a sophomore, but was slowed with a sore back.

After therapy solved her back problems, Carlsen sprained her ankle her junior year in a game against Newport Harbor.

“It was self-inflicted,” Carlsen said. “I just rolled my ankle. It was so frustrating. The team and I watched video of it next day and everyone was laughing.”

The ankle healed, but Carlsen still approached her senior year with caution. She turned down recruiting visits to UCLA and California and orally committed to USC before the season began. She knew this Corona del Mar team had the talent and depth to win the state title.

Another injury could mess everything up. But it never happened.

Carlsen was somewhat thrilled--and relieved--when the Sea Kings beat Mountain View St. Francis for the state title last Saturday.

“It was a feeling of overwhelming joy,” she said.

It also capped a season during which little went wrong for Carlsen. She averaged 14 kills per match and finished with a hitting percentage over .400. She was ranked 10th nationally on Volleyball Monthly magazine’s list of top high school seniors.

“Lara played only one bad match (against Poway in the regional semifinals),” Corona del Mar Coach Dale Flickinger said. “But it wasn’t entirely her fault. She just couldn’t connect with (setter Prentice) Perkins that night.”

Realizing she hadn’t played well, Carlsen held a team meeting during practice the following Monday. She told her teammates she was disappointed in her play and reaffirmed the importance of going to the state finals.

“I stayed up all night and cried after the Poway match,” Carlsen said. “In practice all year, we had been having a good time, giggling and messing around. I stopped us and said, ‘Hey, we need to get serious.’ I wanted them to know that winning state was real important to me. I let them know that I cared.”

The message got across. In the regional finals, the Sea Kings beat San Jose Lynbrook in four games, and then beat St. Francis for the state championship four days later.

Tracy Schriber, Corona del Mar’s outside hitter and one of Carlsen’s best friends, said, “You really can’t put a name on Lara. She gets down on herself, but she always comes back even harder. That’s what I idolize about her.”

Carlsen hasn’t always enjoyed playing volleyball. She hated the sport when she first started playing with the Orange County Volleyball club as a seventh-grader.

“My parents wanted me to try everything when I was young,” she said. “I played soccer, and my coach told my parents that I would be good at volleyball because I was tall and had broad shoulders.

“But I was a little kid saying, ‘No, no. I don’t want to do this.’ But I’m glad I stayed with it. It has paid off now.”

Boy, has it paid off.

Carlsen made a deal with her parents when she was in junior high. If she earned a college scholarship, they would buy her a new car.

So shortly after she committed to USC, Carlsen woke up one morning to find a new four-wheel drive truck in her driveway. It replaced her 1976 BMW “that kept breaking down.”

Carlsen will follow in her parents’ footsteps at USC. Her mother, Anne, graduated from USC and went on to teach English. Her father, Gary, an oral surgeon, set a USC record in the discus and placed sixth in the event at the 1968 Olympics.

Carlsen said it’s easy to spot her father at a volleyball match. He’s the one carrying a video camera.

Gary Carlsen has made a 45-minute highlight video of the team’s championship season, the one during which his daughter just wanted to stay healthy.

TIMES ALL-COUNTY GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL

FIRST TEAM

Player: Brandi Brooks School: Estancia Yr.: Sr. Position: Outside Hitter Comment: Was co-MVP of Pacific Coast League

Player: Lara Carlsen School: Corona del Mar Yr.: Sr. Position: Middle blocker Comment: Will play for USC next fall

Player: Kealy Clarke School: Laguna Beach Yr.: Sr. Position: Setter Comment: Will play at Washington next fall

Player: Missy Clements School: La Habra Yr.: Sr. Position: Middle blocker Comment: Led La Habra to second state title

Player: Prentice Perkins School: Corona del Mar Yr.: Sr. Position: Setter Comment: Mainstay on state champs

Player: Tracy Schriber School: Corona del Mar Yr.: Sr. Position: Outside hitter Comment: MVP in state final match

SECOND TEAM Player: Marni Hichborn School: El Modena Yr.: Jr. Position: Middle blocker Comment: Guided Vanguards to 3-A finals

Player: Zrinka Kristich School: La Habra Yr.: Jr. Position: Outside Hitter

Comment: Tallest player in county at 6-5

Player: Tara Kroesch School: Newport Harbor Yr.: Jr. Position: Outside hitter Comment: Kept Sailors competitive this season

Player: Michelle Mauney School: El Toro Yr.: Sr. Position: Outside hitter Comment: A top college recruit

Player: Cristin Rossman School: Marina Yr.: Sr. Position: Middle blocker Comment: Led Marina to 4-A quarterfinals

Player: Ashley Wacholder School: Laguna Beach Yr.: Sr. Position: Outside hitter Comment: All-Pacific Coast League first team

Honorable mention: Lisa Almanza (La Habra), Melizza Benitez (El Modena), Marta Bickert (El Toro), Sarah Chase (Pacifica), Olivia DiCamilli (Costa Mesa), Bryn Gillis (Dana Hills), Christine Garner (Tustin), Tina Grasselli (Woodbridge), Julie Greer (Esperanza), Misty Hartung (Cypress), Judy Jackson (Capistrano Valley), Ana Kristich (La Habra), Heather McKinley (El Modena), Tonya Mitchell (Capistrano Valley), Kirstin Laird (Los Alamitos), Heather Lowe (Cypress), Colleen Moro (Fountain Valley), Adine Pawloski (Santa Margarita), Stacy Petersen (Corona del Mar), Maureen McLaren (Newport Harbor), Lynn Randall (Corona del Mar), Shelby Snyder (Fountain Valley), Amy Tamblyn (Valencia), Rachel Wacholder (Laguna Beach), Tahlia Wagner (Corona del Mar) and Ali Werve (Santa Margarita).

CROSS-COUNTRY: On Thursday, The Times Orange County Edition will present the boys’ and girls’ cross-country athletes of the year and all-county selections.