Wacholder’s Play Can’t Be Overlooked : Volleyball: Junior, following in her sister’s footsteps, leads Artists to Southern Section 5-A title and top ranking in poll.

Most volleyball coaches figured the Laguna Beach High School girls’ team would slip a notch after outside hitter Ashley Wacholder and setter Kealy Clarke graduated last spring.

But the coaches made one major error. They overlooked the fact that Rachel Wacholder, Ashley’s sister, was returning for her junior season.

Overlooking Wacholder, after all, was easy to do. She stands only 5 feet 8. Her voice is soft and she appears to be about as ferocious as a puppy.

But hand her a volleyball and you see another side to Wacholder.

“She’s intense,” Laguna Beach Coach Michael Soylular said. “And she loves the pressure of a big match.”

Wacholder carried the Artists to new heights this season, a feat that earned her The Times’ county player of the year honors.

The award traditionally goes to a senior, but Wacholder’s season surpassed the standards of her elders.

“Looking back, I was really happy with the way things turned out,” she said. “No one expected us to do well.”

Even Wacholder. After her sister signed to play at Duke, and Clarke signed with Washington, Wacholder said everyone figured “we were going to be terrible this year.”

But after the Artists won the Orange County Championships in September, and Wacholder was named the tournament’s MVP, other teams began taking notice.

Wacholder’s consistent play earned her countless honors, including a spot on Volleyball Monthly’s All-American first team. She had 28 kills as the Artists swept El Toro, the eventual State Division I champion, in the Southern Section 5-A finals.

She averaged 25 kills per match, had a .430 hitting percentage and was the Pacific Coast League’s MVP.

She also led Laguna Beach to the top ranking in the county coaches’ final regular-season poll. Laguna Beach dominated league play, finishing 10-0 and sweeping every match.

It was a good year all-around for the Wacholders. Ashley, a freshman at Duke, started and was named the Atlantic Coast Conference’s rookie of the year. She helped the Blue Devils to a top-20 ranking and a berth in the NCAA tournament.

But Rachel helped the Artists reach a level of play they hadn’t achieved in more than 15 years. The section title was the first for Laguna Beach since 1976.

The Artists (23-3) fell three matches shy of a State title, losing in five games to Lakewood St. Joseph in the Southern California Division I Regional semifinals.

Nearly 2,000 fans packed the Laguna Beach gym to watch the St. Joseph match. Wacholder was impressive, fighting off a bad cold and a case of laryngitis to finish with 35 kills.

“Rachel, as well as the rest of the team, has brought excitement to this city,” Soylular said. “I was talking to (Olympians) Rudy and Dusty Dvorak before the match, and they never remembered having a crowd like that at any of their Laguna Beach matches.”

The season wasn’t without its low points. Many of the players bickered at the start of the season, and questioned Soylular, their first-year coach.

Soylular sometimes kicked the players out of the gym for lack of intensity and poor practices. Setter Shauna Shapiro nearly quit after the Artists won the county championship.

“There was a lot of tension between the players,” Wacholder said, “but we came together after we were swept by Corona del Mar (in October). We started hanging out together, getting a long.”

Although it’s still too early for college scholarship offers, Wacholder probably will be wooed by some of the national powers.

She’s about five inches shorter than the average college player, but her jumping ability more than makes up for the lack of size.

Wacholder has never measured her vertical leap, but many coaches around the county say it’s among the best they’ve seen.

“Rachel will make a great college player because she’s so explosive,” said Dale Flickinger, a former Corona del Mar coach who writes for Volleyball Monthly. “She’s a 5-8 girl who can play in college. She’s a great jumper.”

Said Soylular: “Her size isn’t a factor because she’s such a great leaper. Not only can she jump high, but she’s also a quick jumper.”

Still, Wacholder has a few things to improve during her upcoming club season with Orange County Volleyball and next season with the Artists.

“She needs to polish her blocking and her upper body motion (when she hits),” Soylular said. “Her hitting motion is a little unorthodox.

“But she’s a great passer and she can serve the ball anywhere on the court. We’ve got her on a weight program for next year. She’ll be ready.”

All-County Girls’ Volleyball

FIRST TEAM

Player School Yr. Position Zrinka Kristich La Habra Sr. Outside hitter Maureen McLaren Newport Harbor Sr. Outside hitter Amy Moeller Mater Dei Sr. Outside hitter Shauna Shapiro Laguna Beach Sr. Setter Jaime Smith El Toro Sr. Outside hitter Rachel Wacholder Laguna Beach Jr. Outside hitter

Player Comment Zrinka Kristich Led Highlanders to third State title. Maureen McLaren Led Sailors in kills, blocking. Amy Moeller Named Angelus League MVP. Shauna Shapiro Helped Artists win 5-A title. Jaime Smith Had 21 kills in State final. Rachel Wacholder Only 5 feet 8, but dominating.

SECOND TEAM

Player School Yr. Position Melizza Benitez El Modena Sr. Setter Ally Carpenter Capo Valley Sr. Outside hitter Christine Garner Tustin Sr. Middle blocker Marni Hichborn El Modena Sr. Middle blocker Tara Kroesch Newport Harbor Sr. Outside hitter Lesli Steinert El Toro Sr. Setter

Player Comment Melizza Benitez Led Vanguards to regional finals. Ally Carpenter Led Cougars to 5-A semis. Christine Garner An excellent player on a poor team. Marni Hichborn Led Vanguards to 3-A final. Tara Kroesch Played well despite knee injury. Lesli Steinert Helped Chargers to State title.

Honorable mention: Lynette Anderson (El Modena), Lemia Astarabadi (University), Stefanie Bakke (La Habra), Wendy Balut (El Toro), Karen Benkovsky (Capistrano Valley Christian), Cori Brown (Marina), Lisa Brown (Fountain Valley), Kathleen Bunce (Capistrano Valley Christian), Amanda Burrows (El Toro), Kim Coleman (Corona del Mar), Charmayne Conley (Corona del Mar), Misty Hartung (Cypress), Julie Greer (Esperanza), Rachel Hochgesang (Sunny Hills), Nicole Hoffmann (Foothill), Kelly Kuebler (Los Alamitos), Kirstin Laird (Los Alamitos), Jeanette Little (La Habra), Heather Lowe (Cypress), Misty May (Newport Harbor), Karissa Meith (Irvine), Shannon Meixsell (Dana Hills), Meagan Mirth (La Habra), Colleen Moro (Fountain Valley), Lori Newcomer (Corona del Mar), Tobi Roquemore (Capistrano Valley), Kori Rosenkranz (Sunny Hills), Tori Scott (Laguna Beach), Jennifer Stroffe (Corona del Mar), Amy Tamblyn (Valencia), Jaime Wehrhan (Marina), Carin Whittington (La Quinta).