Monroe’s Crown Is Poetic

Forget rah-rah pre-game speeches. Throw out the emotional tear-jerkers.

Monroe High used a different approach to prepare for the City Section 3-A Division boys’ volleyball championship.

The Vikings got fired up by a poem written by Coach Bob Berrenson, who read his words of wisdom to the players minutes before the match.

It worked.

Monroe downed Eagle Rock, 15-5, 15-8, 15-7, to win the 3-A title Friday at Cal State Northridge.

The poem was slightly presumptuous, declaring the Vikings the 3-A champs before the first point had even been scored, but it turned out to be prophetic.

“It fired us up more than any talk we ever had,” Monroe outside hitter Reggie Ellis said.

The depth and defense of the top-seeded Vikings (14-3) brought them their first title since 1990.

Hugo Cabadas had 13 kills and only two hitting errors for Monroe, while Jose Sanchez, a 6-foot-5 middle blocker, was strong defensively with six blocks.

Ellis and Wesley DeGracia each added seven kills for the Vikings, who substituted liberally throughout the match.

“We don’t rely on one, two, three or four players,” Berrenson said. “We rely on eight or nine. That’s been the story all season.”

On the other side of the court, second-seeded Eagle Rock (14-3) had more hitting errors (38) than kills (28) for the first time this season.

The Eagles were handcuffed

with the loss of starting middle blocker Eduardo Saucedo, who sprained his left ankle in the semifinals against Poly.

That wasn’t the only case of bad timing for the Eagles, who won the 3-A title last season.

For the past several years, the championship had been held at Occidental College in Eagle Rock.

Cal State Northridge, on the other hand, is only three miles from Monroe.

But the Eagles, who hit a lot of balls too long or too wide, weren’t looking for excuses.

“I think we just came out a little nervous,” said Eagle Rock co-Coach Thomas Puzio.

“I think we had a little too much mustard on the hot dog.”

Huy Quach had 10 kills and 15 hitting errors for Eagle Rock. Reccie Canonigo had nine kills and six errors.

“I’m telling you, we’ve been waiting for this thing,” Sanchez said. “We weren’t going to sit back and let them take over.”