Julian is Big Hit From Outside

You can’t be too set in your ways.

Ashley Julian, a three-year starter at setter for Harvard-Westlake, expected to do much of the same this season. Deliver the ball to the outside hitters. Keep the middle blockers satisfied. Occasionally dump the ball over the net, surprising the opponent for a point or side-out.

But injuries to teammates last month forced Julian to move to outside hitter, where she has flourished. She was pressed into the switch after outside hitter Karalyn Kuchenbecker suffered a concussion and middle blocker Courtney Schultz sprained an ankle during a match against Notre Dame Academy.

Julian was an immediate success. The first time she played her new position, at the San Marcos tournament, she was selected to the all-tournament team.

A few days later, she led the Wolverines with 13 kills in a sweep of Mission League rival Flintridge Sacred Heart.

“It came as a surprise,” said the 6-foot-1 senior. “I definitely wasn’t expecting to play outside hitter this season, but I’ve had a lot of fun. As a setter, you’re trying to run the team and direct the offense. Being a hitter, you just try to put the ball away any way you can.”

Her teammates have noticed a difference.

“She’s able to exert herself more as a leader now,” said outside hitter Jessica Kronstadt. “By the nature of the position, an outside hitter has less pressure than a setter. She has a larger presence on the court now. I think part of our success is contributed to that.”

Julian has had experience as a hitter. As a freshman, she was an outside hitter-setter on the junior varsity team, and she has done some hitting for her club team.

She also has volleyball in her bloodlines.

Her father, Jim, was an outside hitter at Stanford from 1967-70. Her brother, Trevor, is a junior outside hitter at USC and is considered one of the top passers on the team.

Just being able to play is a welcome change for Julian.

She fractured her wrist two matches into last season, beginning a lengthy stay on the bench. She watched. Waited. Stewed.

After two months, she played in a regular-season finale against Flintridge Sacred Heart, but then she was sidelined for another three weeks because of strep throat.

“It was hard not to play and not be able to help the team,” Julian said.

“But I would have much rather had it happen last year than this year and miss out on my final opportunity to play high school volleyball.”

Julian was strictly a setter when the Wolverines (19-5) lost to Bishop Montgomery last month in a five-game match.

If the Wolverines, seeded No. 2, get a rematch with the top-seeded Knights in the Southern Section Division III-AA playoffs, Julian could be a surprise.

“Bishop doesn’t know anything about her [position switch],” said Coach Jess Quiroz of Harvard-Westlake.

That could soon change.

*

Mindy Finkelstein got her wish.

Finkelstein, a senior at Chatsworth, had one goal this season--to be able to serve in a match.

Finkelstein had been looking forward to it since the beginning of the volleyball season, when it became apparent she would not fully recover from two gunshot wounds sustained at a Granada Hills day care center on Aug. 10.

Finkelstein served for Chatsworth in a first-round playoff victory Monday against Huntington Park.

The particulars: It was the third game and Chatsworth was leading, 10-2. Finkelstein’s serve hit the net.

The important part: She served, completing an inspirational comeback.

“I didn’t even care [about hitting the net] because just being in the game was so emotional,” Finkelstein said.

“I proved a lot to myself. It was really special.”

*

Monroe pulled the big upset in the first round of the playoffs when the Vikings, seeded No. 14 in the City Championships, swept third-seeded Narbonne on Tuesday.

The undersized Vikings succeeded with a strategy that few teams dared to try against Narbonne.

“We hit right at them,” said Coach Bob Berrenson of Monroe.

“I thought they’d block us. They were pretty big. But they might have taken us lightly.”

The Monroe magic ended against sixth-seeded Garfield on Wednesday night. The Vikings lost in four games, 15-17, 15-10, 15-10, 16-14.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The Top 10

Rankings of region volleyball teams

*--*

RK LW School (League) Rec. 1 1 La Reina (Tri-Valley) 19-0 2 2 Harvard-Westlake (Mission) 19-5 3 3 Westlake (Marmonte) 17-6 4 4 Royal (Marmonte) 22-8 5 5 La Canada (Rio Hondo) 16-0 6 7 Valencia (Foothill) 17-2 7 9 Sylmar (Valley Mission) 14-1 8 8 Buena (Channel) 11-8 9 6 Chatsworth (West Valley) 14-1 10 10 Oxnard (Pacific View) 14-5

*--*