Whittier Christian Writes Its Own Happy Ending Again

The latest laurel is the sweetest, says Whittier Christian Coach Dave Herron as the Heralds won their third consecutive Southern Section Division III boys’ volleyball title Saturday at Cerritos College.

“This one is more enjoyable because of the players. They’ve worked hard for me,” said Herron after he watched Whittier Christian defeat Bellflower St. John Bosco, 15-5, 15-12, 15-9.

Whittier Christian made the triumph appear incredibly easy, to the point at which several players were disappointed it wasn’t more difficult.

“I thought it would be tougher,” said senior outside hitter Derek Beard, who was last year’s divisional MVP.

And though Beard welcomed a higher level of competition, he figured his team was destined for a third consecutive title even before the 1-hour, 18-minute match began. He was even more confident of victory once the match started.

“Definitely after the second game, because it was so easy,” Beard said. “We played pretty well, we sided-out well and we didn’t have too many mental lapses.”

Not many, but enough to give the Braves leads of 6-4, 8-7 and 12-11 in the second game.

Sensing his team needed a jump start, Herron turned to junior middle blocker Tim Willie. Trailing 12-11, Whittier Christian tied the score on an off-speed kill by Willie, took a 13-12 lead on a Willie spike, extended it by another point on a stuffed block by Willie, and closed out the game when Willie gently patted the ball across the net--uncontested.

“I pulled Tim out because we needed someone to get us up,” Herron said. “He provided the spark.”

Whittier Christian took an early 6-2 lead in the third game and the Braves couldn’t close the gap to fewer than four points. At 14-9, senior Stan Park delivered a jump serve that was too powerful for St. John Bosco to handle.

That wasn’t Park’s sole contribution. Herron had switched Park from the setter position earlier in the season when Park strained his ankle and gave Chris Keife starting setting duties. The position changes stuck.

Keife had 43 assists, but Park was a key element. He led the attack from the middle during the pivotal second game.

“Stan accepted his role,” Herron said. “And he was instrumental in winning that second game.”

While St. John Bosco (18-1) relied on an attack from the middle and the outside, Whittier Christian (19-0) spread its attack across the net.

The balance showed in the stats; Whittier Christian middle blocker Peter Schrock had 18 kills, five blocks and six assists, Beard had 16 kills, five solo blocks and nine digs. Willie who was assigned to defend the Braves’ Marco Lopez, finished with eight blocks, six assists and six kills.

Both teams entered the championship with 18-0 records.