U.S. OLYMPIC FESTIVAL : VALLEY-AREA ROUNDUP : It’s Fun and Games for Price This Time

John Price learned from the experience.

In 1991, on his first U.S. Olympic Festival men’s volleyball coaching assignment, Price brought along videotape. He was a coach with a plan.

But his team finished fourth. In other words, last.

So this time around, Price chucked the strategy. No blocking patterns. No fancy offensive tactics.

His practices have been heavy on repetition, his off hours full of fun. And his team, the North, has responded.

With Kevin Hambly and David Smith leading the way, the North clinched a spot in the gold-medal match by downing the West, 15-6, 15-11, 15-11, Wednesday at the University of Texas, San Antonio’s Convocation Center.

Hambly, a former Royal High standout, had 14 kills and hit at a .632 percentage. Smith, a former Pierce College setter, contributed 57 assists and nine digs.

Hambly, who plays for Brigham Young, and Smith, who plays for San Diego State, shared match-high honors with four blocks.

“We’re playing well. All coaching,” quipped Price, the volleyball coach at Cal State Northridge.

The West got a team-high 18 kills from Ken Lynch, one of Price’s former prize pupils.

Gene Urcan, who redshirted the past season at Northridge, led the West with a .588 attacking percentage. He had 10 kills.

The North will play the East today in a preview of Saturday’s gold-medal match. Both teams easily won their first two matches. The East has won all six of its games. The North is 6-1.

SOFTBALL

Debby Day pitched 2 2/3 innings of hitless relief as the North beat the East to win the bronze medal, 5-0.

Day, from Sylmar, struck out three and did not allow a baserunner.

The North scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to pull away. Barb Booth, of Glendale, had two hits for the East. Nancy Evans, also from Glendale, was the losing pitcher.

DIVING

Janae Lautenschlager of Northridge won a silver medal, finishing second to national champion Carrie Zarse of Rockford, Ill., in the one-meter springboard competition.

Zarse, a semifinalist in the one-meter at this year’s FINA World Diving Cup, finished with 274.74 points.

Lautenschlager, 22, had 252.54 points. Melisa Moses of Jacksonville, Fla., was third with 236.49 points.

Nancy Janik of Simi Valley was fourth with 236.22 points. Janik, 32, is the oldest diver taking part in the competition.

FIELD HOCKEY

The match was for a bronze medal but, more importantly, local bragging rights. In a match that featured 22 players from the Valley/Ventura region, the South defeated the West, 2-1, in overtime.

Binh Hoang of Westlake Village scored for the West nine minutes into the contest. His brother, Sammy, evened the score 42 minutes later.

David Wisner’s goal two minutes into overtime was the match-winner.

WOMEN’S TENNIS

Temperatures that reached the high 90s for five consecutive days finally wore down Ania Bleszynski. The 16-year-old Harvard-Westlake student was undefeated after five matches. Then fatigue set in.

Bleszynski, playing a minimum of two matches per day, ended up winning two bronze medals but failed to place in women’s singles.

Katie Schlukebir of Kalamazoo, Mich., defeated Bleszynski, 6-3, 6-3, in the bronze-medal singles match at McFarland Tennis Center.

Bleszynski later teamed with Michael Jessup to win the bronze medal match in mixed doubles, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, over Schlukebir and Alex Roberman.

RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS

Christi Tucay of Burbank finished fourth and Carmit Bachar of Encino was sixth in competition at Blossom Gymnasium.

Tucay, 15, finished with 43.375 points. Bachar, 19, had 42.650 points.