1993 PREP PREVIEW: BOYS’ VOLLEYBALL : Garcia and Seiffert Give Capistrano Valley a One-Two Punch

Last July, 30 of the top boys’ volleyball players gathered in Colorado Springs for the U.S. junior national elite camp.

Two players were from Capistrano Valley High School.

From the 30 players, 15 made the U.S. junior national team. Two were from Capistrano Valley.

Six players started matches against the Saskatchewan junior team, and the Americans won both handily. Two of the starters were from Capistrano Valley.

Most high school coaches would beg to have a national-level player on their roster.

Capistrano Valley Coach Ken Goldstone has the luxury of starting two--seniors Aaron Garcia and Eric Seiffert.

Garcia and Seiffert are among five returning starters for the Cougars, who are top-ranked in the Orange County preseason coaches’ poll.

Garcia, a 6-foot-3 outside hitter, has committed to Stanford and could challenge for a starting spot as a freshman. The Cardinal has five seniors on their roster.

Seiffert, a 6-6 middle blocker, is being recruited by several colleges, including USC, Hawaii, Brigham Young, UC Santa Barbara, Pacific and UC Irvine.

As juniors, they led the Cougars to a 17-3 record and the Southern Section 4-A quarterfinals, where they lost in five games to Newport Harbor.

This season, they will settle for nothing less than a section championship.

“It would really be a big disappointment if we didn’t win league and the section title,” Garcia said. “We have high expectations this year.”

Seiffert agreed. “We should have a real strong team,” he said. “I think we should win CIF.”

Both players set their standards last summer at the elite camp. They said playing with the national team helped them tremendously.

“In high school, you’re the go-to guy,” Garcia said. “But at the camp, everyone could hit, and you had to learn your role. I had to pass a lot more.”

Said Seiffert: “There are a lot of good players in camp. I was surprised the first day. I figured I would be one of the oldest players there. But there were some (Stanford’s Matt Renshaw and Mike Lambert) who had already graduated from high school and signed with colleges.”

Garcia developed into one of the county’s top players last season, his first at Capistrano Valley. He averaged 18 kills and his outstanding all-around skills earned him first-team all-county and All-South Coast League honors.

He began his career at Mission Viejo High, where he started on the varsity volleyball team two seasons and played outside linebacker on the Diablos’ lower-level football teams.

Goldstone coached Garcia on the Crown Valley Club team in the off-season, and wished he had the outside hitter on his high school squad, too.

“Aaron lived right across the street from our district boundary,” Goldstone said.

Goldstone got some good news when he was coaching football the next fall. Garcia approached him at practice and told the coach he had moved into the Capistrano Valley district.

The addition of Garcia made the lineup complete. Goldstone had a talented setter in Eric McKelvie, a great outside hitter in senior Bryan Lawson and a trio of good junior hitters in Steve Airey, Evan Alexander and Steve Thornton.

And then there was Seiffert, who began to show promise at middle blocker as a sophomore, his first season on the varsity.

Seiffert plays basketball and usually gets a late start on volleyball. The Cougars reached the Southern California Regional Division I finals last season, and Seiffert needed time to adjust to volleyball once he was done with basketball.

“We didn’t peak last season until the end,” Goldstone said. “We didn’t have Eric in the lineup until almost Easter.”

He’s in the same predicament this season. The basketball team plays Rialto Eisenhower in the Division I-AA quarterfinals tonight and has a good shot at going to the regionals. Volleyball season starts Monday.

“I missed three or four matches last year,” Seiffert said. “It’s tough for me to get back on the volleyball court after basketball. I’m so out of sync compared to the other guys. I wish I had more time to prepare for the season. I would be a lot better.”

The Cougars have depth and talent. But do they have what it takes to be top-ranked wire-to-wire?

Garcia thinks so, but added that winning it all won’t be easy.

“It’s tough to get up for every match,” Garcia said. “And when you’re top-ranked, you’re everyone else’s big match. Everyone wants to beat you.”

Garcia said a section championship would erase some painful memories of last season’s quarterfinal loss to Newport Harbor. With the score tied, 10-10, in the fourth game, Garcia began cramping.

Garcia said a series of strange circumstances led to the cramps. He normally maintains a solid diet--pasta and citrus fruits--before matches.

“There was a gas leak at school that day and they evacuated the building,” he said. “I couldn’t get back in, and my car keys were locked in my locker. By the time I got my keys, I had just enough time to change, grab a couple (fast-food) tacos and get to the match.”

The combination of a bad pregame meal and a steaming hot Newport Harbor gym left Garcia’s legs in knots. He limped on the court to start the fifth game, but Goldstone pulled him.

“I sat there and watched and felt like it was my fault,” Garcia said. “It was frustrating to watch us lose.”

But Garcia learned from it. He said he plans to monitor his diet even closer this season. Especially before matches.

“I’m not going to have another Newport Harbor experience,” he said. “No way.”