The Write Stuff : La Habra’s Stefanie Bakke, a Budding Sports Reporter, Is Making Her Own Headlines on the Volleyball Court

Stefanie Bakke would like nothing better than to cover the La Habra High School girls’ volleyball team for the school’s student newspaper, the Scotch Tape.

There’s only one problem--Bakke’s the starting setter for the Highlanders.

The way Bakke figures it, you won’t find Wayne Gretzky skating off the ice in the third period so he can make deadline. And you won’t find Jim Everett typing up a blow-by-blow account of another Ram game.

Knowing all too well the conflict of interest in writing about herself and her teammates, Bakke sticks to covering football and other sports for the paper.

Meanwhile, she and the second-seeded Highlanders (23-2) have been bumping the football stories to the bottom of the sports page.

La Habra is two victories from winning a third consecutive State Division II championship. The Highlanders play at fourth-seeded Los Angeles Marlborough (20-1) in the Southern California Regional final at 7:30 tonight.

A victory would land La Habra (23-2) in the state finals Saturday at Cal State Fullerton.

The Highlanders are trying to become only the fourth team to win three state championships, joining Manhattan Beach Mira Costa in Division I (1982, ‘85, ‘89), Rim of the World in Division II (1981-83) and Francis Parker in Division III (1986-88).

Bakke struggled to deal with the thought of a third title.

“We think about the possibility and it’s like, ‘Whoa, we can’t believe it,’ ” she said. “It’s amazing that we won two in a row. But we’re dedicated this year to getting a third.”

That dedication might best explain why La Habra hasn’t lost a match since early October. After losing two of their first six matches, the Highlanders have won 19 in a row, including their third consecutive Southern Section 3-A title.

La Habra Coach Sandy Blumenthal said part of the Highlanders’ success this season is Bakke, their rookie setter.

In fact, it was Blumenthal who nicknamed Bakke “Lois” after Lois Lane, the intrepid Daily Planet reporter from the Superman comics.

“Everyone on the team kept getting (teammate) Stephanie Pfeiffer and I confused,” Bakke said. “So Blum started calling me Lois, because I get so excited after I finish an article, just like Lois Lane does.”

Bakke plans to study journalism in college. She also hopes to play one of her three favorite sports--volleyball, soccer or softball.

She was a first-team all-Freeway League selection in volleyball and softball as a freshman and sophomore.

Bakke, a softball catcher and a soccer fullback, has earned five of a possible six varsity letters, narrowly missing a letter in soccer as a freshman.

“I really want to play volleyball in college,” she said, “although I might have a better chance in softball because I’m a catcher. But I like volleyball more. It’s much more exciting to play.”

Bakke started last at right-side hitter and backed up starting setter Lisa Almanza.

But when Almanza graduated along with starting hitters Ana Kristich, Missy Clements and Leslie Ferguson, Bakke was left as the team’s starting setter.

“Coach Blumenthal told me my freshman year that if Lisa ever got hurt, I would be the setter,” Bakke said. “Then I started thinking last year, that when Lisa graduates, I’ll be the starting setter.”

With that in mind, Bakke worked on her setting skills during Cal State Long Beach’s summer camp. She said the four-hour workouts were “very rough.”

“We’d go constantly,” she said. “With all the conditioning, my arms were toned up and I was ready for the season. I was just dead after every day of camp. I would come home and sleep for a couple of hours.”

Although tiring, the work helped smooth the edges on Bakke’s game. Blumenthal said she noticed Bakke’s improvement early in the season.

“Her footwork improved a lot,” Blumenthal said. “She was getting to the ball much quicker.”

La Habra’s offense is built around Zrinka Kristich, a 6-foot-5 outside hitter. Bakke’s job is to get the ball to Kristich as often as possible.

“We’re running a totally different offense this year,” Bakke said. “It’s a lot different without Missy, Ana, Leslie and Lisa around.”

Bakke is eager for volleyball season to end. The soccer season is on the brink of beginning, and she will prepare for her third season with the varsity.

Basketball season is just around the corner, too, although you’ll likely find Bakke on press row instead of the court.

“It’s one of my favorite sports to write about,” she said.