Hornets Want to Surprise Rustlers

Nancy Welliver, in her third year at Fullerton College, has worked hard to get the Hornet volleyball team on a winning path.

Welliver took over the struggling program after working at Cerritos College as an assistant.

Last season, she guided Fullerton to a second-place finish in the Orange Empire Conference and a berth in the state tournament.

This season, she would like the team to take another step forward.

But there’s a problem. A really serious problem. Golden West is also a member of the Orange Empire Conference.

The Rustlers, coached by Albert Gasparian, have won three state titles in a row, five of the last six, and six of the last eight.

Golden West has also won 114 consecutive conference matches, dating back to 1986.

The Rustlers have won nine consecutive conference titles. Their first was in the South Coast Conference; the last eight in the Orange Empire Conference.

Golden West, which returns three starters, is ranked No. 1 in the state.

“We’re pretty good this season,” Gasparian said. “We’ve got a lot of depth.”

But for once, Golden West isn’t alone in those attributes. Fullerton also has a lot of depth and talent. Both are 4-0 this season in regulation matches.

Five Fullerton players return, including middle blockers Nadia Hoerner and Michelle Halliday and setter Christy Deming. All three earned all-conference honors last season.

Golden West’s team spent last weekend at the Valley of the Sun tournament in Phoenix and won 10 of 11 best-of-three matches against some of the best teams in the nation. Fullerton was at the Rancho Santiago tournament and finished third.

The teams will meet for the first time this season at 7 p.m. Oct. 9 at Fullerton in the Orange Empire Conference opener. They’ll meet again in a conference match Nov. 1 at Golden West.

“They’ve been making a lot of noise,” Gasparian said of Fullerton. “But we’ve just got to go out and play.”

Irvine Valley also made some women’s volleyball news Monday by announcing George Carey has been selected as coach of the program that will compete for the first time next fall.

Carey has a wealth of experience, including being the interim coach at Concordia University last season. He was also the coach at Capistrano Valley Christian and Laguna Beach high schools as well as being the founder and director of the Saddleback Volleyball Club.