HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW : Thousand Oaks Twins Cement Their Bond

The twins who now can’t bear to be apart some of the time once couldn’t stand to be together anytime.

“In junior high it was constant bickering, like, ‘You’re on my side of the room!’ ” Janette Penfield said. “We almost had our parents build a wall in our room to separate us.”

Such a wall inevitably would have come tumbling down, because Janette and Carrie Penfield of Thousand Oaks High have long since reconciled such differences.

The 6-foot-1 fraternal twins are now best friends, joined by a multitude of shared experiences and interests--especially volleyball.

Their affinity for the sport was cemented when Carrie followed Janette onto the Cleveland High team their sophomore year, and the duo have played side by side ever since.

After transferring to Thousand Oaks following that season, the Penfields helped the Lancers advance to a Southern Section Division I quarterfinal last year, and their presence is the primary reason for Thousand Oaks’ No. 11 ranking in the state preseason poll: They are the only varsity returnees.

The senior middle blockers also have become two of the most sought-after college recruits in the area, being courted by Brigham Young, Arizona, Utah, Illinois, Oregon and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, among others.

“They have the necessary height to play elite NCAA Division I,” Thousand Oaks Coach Ron Beick said. “They’re both very quick for their size and very strong and good all-around players.”

The Penfields’ play will be the focal point for an inexperienced Lancer team that lost 11 players to graduation. Senior outside hitters Megan Falde and Keri Wetzsteon, both 5-9, will complement the Penfields’ strong inside game.

“Those four will be the key to our power,” Beick said. “Going into the season we know we’re strong in the middle.”

That strength was depleted when Janette Penfield suffered a sprained ankle last week in practice, and the Lancers have started slowly, splitting four matches in the California Classic tournament and losing to Santa Barbara on Tuesday.

But Janette could return to the court within a week, Beick said, because her ankle is healing ahead of schedule. The twins’ volleyball development is ahead of schedule as well.

They were exposed to the sport as 12-year-olds, participating in a church league while living in Northridge.

They began playing in earnest as sophomores at Cleveland, and Janette earned All-City honors that year. Carrie was selected to the All-Marmonte League squad last year and Janette to the all-league second team.

“A lot of time in high school, the bigger girls need a couple more years to develop, but even though these (girls) have only played two years of club volleyball, their skill development has been a lot quicker than normal,” Beick said.

Carrie improved so rapidly that she was selected to participate last summer in the Junior Elite Camp for the nation’s top 36 returning high school players.

The camp was staged at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., and was particularly memorable for the Penfields because Janette was designated as a first alternate for the team and thus did not attend the camp.

“It was real devastating at first,” Janette said. “And then when Carrie came back, she said, ‘Oh my gosh, you should have been there! There were people there that you were tons better than.’ ”

Carrie chimed in, finishing her sister’s thought, as both frequently do in an interview.

“I was just wiping these girls out in drills and I was just like, ‘There’s no way! My sister is twice as good as you are.’ ”

That knowledge comforted Janette, but the separation, which the twins might have embraced a few years ago, was not to their liking. “It was really awkward,” Carrie said. “All of a sudden I didn’t have my best friend right next to me all the time.”

And until Janette’s sprained ankle heals, Carrie finds herself in a similar situation--playing with five teammates, but curiously alone.

“When we’re out there, we have a--some people call it a bond--but somehow we just connect,” Carrie said. “If one of us gets a kill, we’re all over each other, going, ‘Yeah! Great job!’ and we’re all fired up. Now there isn’t that with anyone.”

The Penfields say they don’t necessarily plan to attend the same college. They are individuals, not a package deal for recruiters.

“You want to be wanted for yourself,” Janette said. “not for the idea that you’re a twin sister.”

Yet it comes as no surprise that both girls have committed to make official visits to the same two schools--Cal Poly SLO and BYU.

After all, splitting up for four years would be much harder than splitting up for a single match, which Janette found disconcerting enough. “During the club season last spring Carrie sprained her ankle and she left the match, and I was playing and there was an empty feeling inside of me,” she said. “It was weird not having each other.”

OTHER TEAMS TO WATCH

Agoura--First-year Coach Chris Everson has taken the reins of the team that is the consensus choice as the area’s best.

Senior setter Tammy Burris “is going to be one of the primary setters coming out to the college ranks this year,” Royal Coach Bob Ferguson said.

Burris earned all-tournament honors at the prestigious California Classic tournament last weekend.

Senior outside hitter Jenny Pavley is an outstanding all-around player, and the Chargers have an edge over the rest of the Marmonte League in experience and balance.

Harvard-Westlake--Senior setter Lindsay Powers (5-8) and junior middle attacker Amanda Selby (6-1) will lead the defending Mission League champion Wolverines, who have five of their top eight players back from last season’s playoff quarterfinal team.

Powers earned All-Southern Section Division II honors last season and was the league’s co-Most Valuable Player.

Angie Wong, a 5-4 senior back row specialist, gives the Wolverines a scrappy, inspirational defender. Senior outside hitter Hillary Gross (5-7) was an all-league performer.

Royal--The Highlanders have only two proven varsity players. Fortunately for Coach Bob Ferguson, those players--seniors Teri Enright and Jenny Treglown--are among the best in the area.

Enright, a 5-8 outside hitter, is listed among the top 40 players in the state in a preseason coaches’ poll. Treglown, a 6-0 middle hitter, is a Division I college prospect.

Ferguson’s daughter, Heidi, a 5-9 sophomore, will be the setter. Susan Torst, Anita Coats and Jessica Cruz also will start.

Newbury Park--The strength of the team is at the net, with junior middle blockers Kara McKeown (5-11) and Christine Arguijo (5-10) and setter Kari Norberg.

The uncertain area is at outside hitter, where four players are competing: seniors Meegan Cameron, Alison Reynolds and Bree Gallimore and junior Julie Wastell.

Saugus--The Centurions advanced to a Division III playoff semifinal last season and enter this season ranked third in their division with their best player back: 5-11 senior Lindsay Estes.

Laura Wagoner, who played middle blocker and outside hitter last season, was converted to setter. Coach Bobbi Estes said the 5-8 senior appears comfortable with her new position.

In addition to Wagoner, Estes will rely on her daughter, Lindsay--the Foothill League MVP last season--and outside hitter Amy Gillis, a 5-9 senior. Sophomore Jennifer Phillips (5-11) will play middle blocker.

Westlake--The Warriors are like a lovable curmudgeon--tough on the outside but tender on the inside, which is precisely their problem. Undersized middle blockers Laurie Corniea (5-10) and Carrie Aroyan (5-10) “are basically outside hitters playing middle blocker,” Coach John Streltzoff said.

Luckily, senior outside hitters Kristin Lee (6-0) and Shanon Sincock (5-11) give Streltzoff the league’s strongest outside tandem, and senior setter Stephanie Salm (5-9) earned all-league honors.

El Camino Real--The Conquistadores have senior outside hitter Jessica Dinaberg, the City Section 4-A Co-Player of the Year last season, and seniors Gretchen Vandenberg and Samantha Small.

However, Coach Lori Chandler had only six players on the team when practice opened. Now there are nine. Diane Sweet, last year’s starting setter, moved to Idaho, leaving the Conquistadores--who advanced to the playoff semifinals last season--with plenty of holes.

“We’ve got to work some magic here, I guess,” Chandler said. “I’m hoping for some new student, some ninth-grader that says, ‘Hey, I’m halfway decent.’ ”