Success Comes in Waves : Former West Standout Hueth Is a Key Player for No. 15 Pepperdine

Carolyn Hueth looked intense as she warmed up for a volleyball match at Loyola Marymount’s Gersten Pavilion recently. The Pepperdine senior was playing on an opponent’s court, yet she felt at home among family and friends who offered support from the stands.

Hueth, a West Torrance High graduate, helped her team beat the Lions to remain undefeated in the West Coast Conference. The 5-foot-10 South Bay native had 22 set assists, seven kills and nine digs against Loyola.

“She’s a real solid player and a very smart blocker,” Loyola Coach Steve Stratos said. “She takes a large part of the floor. I think Carolyn and the other senior, Cari Delson, are the glue that holds that team together, especially when things get difficult and tight. They always come through.

“The last thing I can say about Carolyn is that I’m glad she’s graduating.”

Hueth, 20, is considered to be the Waves’ best all-around player. She is listed in the media guide as an outside hitter, but she also sets, blocks and plays defense for 15th-ranked Pepperdine, 19-4 overall with a 13-game winning streak. She is a crucial part of the Waves’ 6-2 offense, which includes two setters and three hitters in the front row.

“She’s an excellent hitter and an excellent setter,” said Pepperdine Coach Nina Matthies, who has led the Waves to six NCAA playoff berths. “She’s the strongest player on this team. She also has a great jump.”

Defense is Hueth’s strength, however. She is Pepperdine’s all-time leader in digs (1,353), including a team-high 299 this season. Hueth also ranks among team leaders in blockers (48) and hitting (.218 kill percentage).

“She’s an excellent athlete. She’s just a big, physical person,” said former Pepperdine assistant LeValley Pattison, who also coached Hueth at the South Bay volleyball club for three years. “She could be one of the best physical players in the country. She’s definitely the best setter in the league.”

Hueth, a four-year starter at Pepperdine, made the All-WCC freshman team in 1988. She was an outside hitter who played the right side and seldom did any setting. But midway through the season, the Waves’ starting setter collided with another player during a match. She was pulled out of the game and Hueth was forced to take over as setter.

“I was all over the place,” she said, laughing. “I really didn’t know what I was doing, so Nina (Matthies) said, ‘We better teach her how to set.’ ”

An All-WCC selection as a junior, Hueth was one of the team’s starting setters in Matthies’ newly created 6-2 offense. She registered 333 digs, 199 kills, 77 blocks and a team-high 25 service aces.

“Being a setter was almost comical to me because I was a hitter,” Hueth said. “I didn’t know what to expect, but it worked out well.”

Hueth was an All-WCC selection last season when she led the team with 383 digs and a 9.14 assist average. She also had 85 blocks, an impressive amount for a setter.

“She’s not a dynamic player,” Pepperdine middle blocker Lesli Asplund said. “She’s more contained and concentrating. She’s really consistent, so you can always count on her being there.”

That is not something Hueth learned playing for Pepperdine. She’s always been a solid and versatile athlete, but she developed her versatility at West Torrance, where she was voted the school’s best athlete in 1987 and 1988. Hueth was a standout for the Warriors’ soccer, volleyball and track teams.

She was a soccer defender and an All-CIF goalie for the Warriors, who made it to the playoffs in each of her three years as a starter. She was also a two-time CIF 3-A Division shotput champion and a three-year starter for the volleyball team.

Soccer was considered Hueth’s specialty, however. She grew up playing in American Youth Soccer Organization leagues and was considered one of the area’s best prep defenders.

“She was the best goalkeeper I coached in six years there,” said former West soccer Coach Andy Bonchonski, who now coaches the UC Berkeley women. “She put us over the top. She came up with great saves. Besides natural athletic ability, she had the desire to work hard. She was a perfectionist and an overachiever in a lot of ways.”

Hueth was also a volleyball standout, although she didn’t start playing seriously until her sophomore year in high school. West didn’t have a strong volleyball program, but Hueth was named Bay League most valuable player as a sophomore and was twice the team MVP.

“We just ran a basic offense,” Hueth said. “I played the left side and I did a lot of setting. We weren’t very good.”

Hueth says she learned and refined her volleyball skills at the South Bay volleyball club, which is for girls 18 and under. That’s where college scouts spotted her competing against the area’s top prep players.

“I decided that I had pursued soccer for so many years that I wanted to try something new,” Hueth said. “So I started playing volleyball year-round and it became known that I was interested in playing volleyball in college.”

Hueth took recruiting trips to Arizona State, Oregon and Oklahoma before committing to Pepperdine. She says she fell in love with the Malibu campus, but wasn’t sure how much she would play.

“I thought I might play two points out of a game,” Hueth said. “I remember my mom wanted to go watch me at a tournament in Hawaii when I was a freshman. I said, ‘No way!’ How embarrassing when people ask you, ‘Who are you watching?’ and you have to say, ‘That girl over there on the bench.’ ”

As it turned out, Hueth spent little time on the bench. She played frequently in the Hawaii tournament and became a permanent starter shortly thereafter. She has never missed a college game.

Hueth was a member of the South team that won a gold medal at last summer’s Olympic Sports Festival.

“It was like a dream,” she said. “It was really exciting.”

A member of Pepperdine’s honor roll, Hueth plans to become a police officer after receiving a sociology degree in the spring. But first she wants to play professional volleyball in Europe and might try to compete on the women’s pro beach tour after that.

“I don’t feel like I’m ready to give this up,” Hueth said. “Sometimes I miss soccer, but not enough to change what I’ve done. I wouldn’t trade volleyball for soccer.”