Granada Hills Reaches Final After Recruiting Thompson

Stephen Thompson was minding his own business, manicuring the baseball field on a hot August afternoon at Granada Hills High.

Several months stood between Thompson and his role as the Highlanders’ baseball coach, but only a few minutes separated him from his new, unexpected role as the girls’ volleyball coach at Granada Hills.

When Thompson went inside the coaches’ office to get a drink of water, he was asked--begged?--by Athletic Director Richard Hulse if he could fill the coaching vacancy created by the last-minute resignation of Patti Leiblie.

Thompson knew infinitely more about fastballs than blocks and digs, but he did not say no when asked by Hulse.

He pondered the idea for a day. Then he said yes.

“If I’m not coaching the team, it’s a possibility they’re not playing,” Thompson said. “I’m not saying that would have happened in this case, but you never know.

“You want to provide as much of an opportunity as possible for everybody to play high school sports. We’ve had a good time with it.”

So much so that the Highlanders (11-5) play for the City Invitational title today against Marshall (13-3) at Occidental College.

Thompson has received help from assistant Donald Puathasnanon, a former Times’ all-region selection at outside hitter at Granada Hills who played at UCLA for three years.

Puathasnanon, a senior at UCLA, does not plan to play this year. But his contributions at Granada Hills have been substantial.

“It didn’t take me long to figure out that this would be a good guy to have with us,” Thompson said.

It also helps to have players such as Kim Carpenter and outside hitters Christina and Priscilla Baca. They have taken to the dual-coach concept.

“I see a big difference,” said Carpenter, a senior middle blocker. “You don’t have to think about whether you’re going to have a good game. You already know because you’ve been taught.”

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When the season began, most people envisioned Palisades winning the City Championship.

But Sylmar has its own visions.

The second-seeded Spartans (15-1) have been bolstered by outside hitter Stephanie Cisneros and the return of two-time All-City middle blocker Kassy Jimenez, who was sidelined most of the season because of a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament.

The Spartans might catch top-seeded Palisades (15-0) at the right time in the City Championship final today at Occidental College.

The two-time defending champions have struggled recently, needing four games to beat Van Nuys and San Pedro in the first two rounds. It took five games for Palisades to defeat No. 12-seeded Venice in the semifinals.

An opening for Sylmar, perhaps?

“Now that we have Kassy back in the lineup--even at 50% [healthy]--it gives us a lot of confidence,” said Coach Bob Thomson of Sylmar.

Still, Thomson supplied a voice of reason.

“The City Championship goes through Palisades,” he said. “To be a champion, you’ve got to beat the champion.”

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Harvard-Westlake plays a familiar foe tonight in the Southern Section Division III-AA championship at Cypress College.

The second-seeded Wolverines (22-5) play top-seeded Bishop Montgomery (27-3), a team they have battled four times in the state or sectional playoffs since 1995.

Earlier this season, Bishop Montgomery defeated the Wolverines in a five-game nonleague match.

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Kudos to Thousand Oaks Hillcrest Christian, which joins Harvard-Westlake as the only remaining teams from the region in the Southern Section playoffs.

Second-seeded Hillcrest Christian (23-1) plays top-seeded Hemet Baptist Christian in the Division V-A final Saturday at Cypress College.

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Kari VanFleet was given a Royal send-off.

VanFleet, an outside hitter who had been sidelined since Sept. 30 after partially tearing an anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, was allowed to serve in the final regular-season match for Royal.

VanFleet, a senior, served the first point against Simi Valley. She also limped out in the fourth game, with Royal holding a 14-12 lead, and served the final point.

She did not participate in any rallies, stepping aside after serving.

“It was nice, considering what she’s been through,” said Coach Bob Ferguson of Royal. “I had chills, and I don’t even get them any more.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The Top 10

Rankings of region volleyball teams

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RK LW School (League) Rec. 1 2 Harvard-Westlake (Mission) 22-5 2 3 Westlake (Marmonte) 19-7 3 4 Royal (Marmonte) 23-9 4 1 La Reina (Tri-Valley) 20-1 5 5 La Canada (Rio Hondo) 18-1 6 6 Sylmar (Valley Mission) 15-1 7 8 Buena (Channel) 12-8 8 7 Valencia (Foothill) 17-3 9 9 Chatsworth (West Valley) 14-1 10 10 Oxnard (Pacific View) 15-6

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