Kymans Lead Turnaround at El Toro

After winning only two matches last season, El Toro is back on the winning track this season.

But this revival shouldn’t be too surprising considering the architects: first-year Coach Michelle Kyman and her assistant and husband, Coley.

“I knew she’d be a spectacular coach,” Coley Kyman said. “It’s been going real well so far.”

The Chargers are 5-3, 3-1 in the South Coast League and tied for first heading into tonight’s match against Dana Hills.

Michelle Kyman, formerly Michelle Mauney, remembers some of the glory days of El Toro girls’ volleyball. She was an All-Orange County player in 1990 and helped the Chargers reach the Southern Section Division 5-A semifinals before she moved on to play at UCLA.

In 1991, El Toro reached the 5-A final but lost to Laguna Beach.

“After winning only two matches all last year,” Michelle Kyman said, “We wanted to do anything we could to get these girls a positive record this season.

“We’ve worked a lot on the mental game, trying to get them to see that it’s heart that can make a difference. Talent will only take you so far.

“We wanted to prove that El Toro could get back on the map like when I was there.”

Kyman returned to El Toro, where she is currently a substitute teacher, after playing professionally in Holland last season.

Her volleyball experience combined with Coley’s--who played at Cal State Northridge, professionally in Finland, and with the U.S. team in the ’91 Pan American Games--has also made things easier for the Chargers.

“The girls respect us because our knowledge of volleyball is there,” Michelle Kyman said. “They stop, listen and want to absorb everything they can.”

Said Coley: “I don’t know if I’ve ever been around a team that’s more excited and open to learn. They’re very coachable. They really listen to Michelle and they want to win.

Senior middle blocker Kristi Tunila and sophomore Kim Wilson are just two of the standouts who have led the Chargers turnaround.

And the turnaround also doesn’t surprise former El Toro coach and current UCLA women’s volleyball assistant Kim Jagd, who coached Michelle Kyman at El Toro and UCLA.

“Everything Michelle accomplished was through hard work,” Jagd said. “She had an eagerness to learn. She wanted to be good at all aspects of the game so she studied it too.”

A NEW NO. 1

Newport Harbor, the defending State Division I and Southern Section Division I-AA champion, has ruled the local girls’ volleyball scene for the last 1 1/2 seasons, but Mater Dei finally knocked the Sailors off their perch last week.

Friday, Mater Dei improved to 9-0 with an impressive four-game victory over host Newport Harbor, which is led by one of the state’s best players, USC-bound April Ross.

“They did a really nice job on us,” Newport Harbor Coach Dan Glenn said. “They had us well-scouted, attacked our weaknesses, out ball-controlled and out-served us. They were better than us that night.

“But it’s October and the playoffs are a long way off so hopefully we can learn from this. That’s why I love playing these kinds of matches.”

Mater Dei sophomore Breegan Mulligan had 19 kills in 40 attempts to lead the Monarch offense.

“She was unbelievable,” Mater Dei Coach Craig Pazanti said. “For a sophomore to step up in a match like that . . .

“Our middle blockers, Lindsay Pavlik and Kelley Kincheloe, led us in digs so that gives you an indication of how well our defense played. We hadn’t played the best until last week, so I guess confidence-wise, this should help us.

“But it will also put a target on our backs.”

Things don’t get easier for the Monarchs this week with two Serra League matches.

Mater Dei, top-ranked in Division I-A, plays Santa Margarita, top-ranked in Division II-AA, tonight at Calvary Chapel. Thursday, Mater Dei plays Lakewood St. Joseph, the second-ranked team in Division II-A.

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Southern Section Polls

Division I-AA--1. Newport Harbor, 2. Manhattan Beach Mira Costa, 3. Esperanza, 4. Irvine, 5. Long Beach Wilson, 5. Upland, 6. Redlands East Valley, 8. Long Beach Poly, 9. Palos Verdes Peninsula, 10. Arcadia.

Division I-A--1. Mater Dei, 2. Santa Barbara, 3. Huntington Beach, 4. Simi Valley Royal, 5. Ventura Buena, 6. Santa Barbara San Marcos, 7. San Clemente, 8. Thousand Oaks, 9. Ventura, 10. Newhall Hart.

Division II-AA--1. Santa Margarita, 2. Westlake Village Westlake, 3. South Torrance, 4. Cypress, 5. Redondo Union, 6. Hemet, 7. Whittier La Serna, 8. Valencia, 9. Foothill, 10. Whittier.

Division II-A--1. Covina South Hills, 2. Lakewood St. Joseph, 3. Glendora St. Lucy’s, 4. La Habra, 5. San Luis Obispo, 6. Goleta Dos Pueblos, 7. Atascadero, 8. Lakewood Mayfair, 9. Ocean View, 10. Laguna Hills.

Division III-AA--1. Torrance Bishop Montgomery, 2. North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake, 3. Corona del Mar, 4. La Canada, 5. Riverside Notre Dame, 6. Rosary, 7. Santa Paula, 8. Ojai Nordhoff, 9. Mission Hills Alemany, 10. West Hills Chaminade.

Division IV-AA--1. Laguna Beach, 2. L.A. Notre Dame Academy, 3. Thousand Oaks La Reina, 4. L.A. Marymount, 5. Cerritos Whitney, 6. Flintridge Sacred Heart, 7. Cerritos Valley Christian, 8. Woodland Hills Louisville, 9. El Segundo, 10. Carpinteria.

Division IV-A--1. Los Angeles Brentwood, 2. Calvary Chapel, 3. Whittier Christian, 4. Sun Valley Village Christian, 5. Los Angeles Marlborough, 6. Malibu, 7. Ventura St. Bonaventure, 8. Orange Lutheran, 9. Sierra Madre Alverno, 10. San Pedro Mary Star of the Sea.

Division V-AA--1. St. Margaret’s, 2. Calabasas Viewpoint, 3. Palos Verdes Peninsula Chadwick, 4. North Hollywood Campbell Hall, 5. Covina Western Christian, 6. La Canada Flintridge Prep, 7. Pasadena Poly, 8. Simi Valley Grace Brethren, 9. L.A. Windward, 10. Lone Pine.

Division V-A--1. Hemet Baptist Christian, 2. Thousand Oaks Hillcrest Christian, 3. Liberty Christian, 4. Camarillo Cornerstone Christian, 5. Santa Monica Lighthouse Church, 6. Arcadia Rio Hondo Prep, 7. Lake Arrowhead Christian, 8. Baker, 9. Atascadero North County Christian, 10. Cuyama Valley, 10. Independence Owens Valley.