Westlake Winning Big With Trifecta

Three is anything but a crowd at Westlake High.

The Westlake girls’ volleyball team, which has never taken offense to the number three--it won consecutive Marmonte League championships from 1995-97--is one of the surprise stories of the season thanks primarily to Stacey Lee, Lauren Mills and Tawny Thorp.

They are the core of the Warriors (12-2, 8-0 in league play), and they share a common past. All were teammates on the California Coast Volleyball Club in junior high.

It’s easy to see why the Warriors are one of the best passing teams in the region. The three players have known each other for “forever, basically,” said Mills, a senior setter-outside hitter.

“We know how each other plays,” she said. “We know what to expect out of each other. It’s a lot easier that way.”

It’s also easier to grow up with the sport, as all three did.

Mills’ mother, Linda, coached Westlake from 1988-90 and was also a club coach.

Thorp’s older sister, Tracy, played at Westlake while Linda Mills was the coach. Lauren and Tawny, 6 and 5 at the time, would often be at practices and matches, shagging volleyballs together.

Lee was also around volleyball as a youth. Her older sister, Kristin, was an outside hitter at Pepperdine and her older brother, Jason, is a senior outside hitter at Loyola Marymount.

“I’d been to so many games as a kid,” said Stacey, a senior outside hitter. “I was always playing around with a ball, having fun.”

The Warriors don’t have a player who dominates, a la Courtney Guerra last year at Royal, but they have a continuity on the court that surpasses almost every team in the region, starting with their talented trio.

“They have such great desire, that all the girls are inspired,” Westlake Coach Karen Suppan Klee said. “It’s not something you can teach a kid to have. It’s from within. I am extremely lucky in that sense. These girls want it for themselves.”

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Is that the softball team practicing on the volleyball court?

The distinction is blurred at Highland, where softball standouts Nicole Rawson and Ashlie D’Errico are on the volleyball team.

Both are reserves, Rawson at outside hitter and D’Errico at setter, but they create an aura that helps during matches.

“They really subscribe to that [theory], ‘There’s no I in team,’ ” Highland Coach Tom Jones said. “They put their personal needs behind them and they are very talkative, very supporting of the other girls. That’s one of the reasons we are 5-0 [in Golden League play].”

Brynn Olssen, Amy Truong and Rawson’s sister, Natalie, help make Highland (11-3) the Golden League favorite.

“I’m very lucky to have them all,” Jones said.

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Buena’s back.

After starting Channel League play 1-2, the Bulldogs have rallied on the strength of a five-game victory last week against Santa Barbara, ranked No. 5 in the state Division I poll.

Outside hitter Krystal McFarland has 70 kills in the last three matches for Buena (11-5, 5-3), which has also received strong play from middle blocker Kelly Greathouse and outside hitter Mandy Getton.

“You’ve got to completely keep [opposing] defenses guessing,” said Buena Coach Jack Richards, whose daughter, Janee, is the setter. “It’s incredible. The whole package is nice.”

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The region’s best City team in the Sylmar tournament last Saturday was not Taft, Chatsworth or Sylmar. Surprisingly, it was North Hollywood.

The Huskies advanced to the championship by defeating Taft in the semifinals, 15-13, and Chatsworth in the quarterfinals, 15-12.

Opposite hitter Mary David and middle blocker Ashley Fargeon played well for the Huskies, who rely on a digging, diving defense.

“They’re scrappy,” Taft Coach Doug Magorien said. “If you don’t play well, you’re going to lose.”

Narbonne, rated along with Palisades as one of the top teams in the City Section, defeated North Hollywood in the final, 15-8.

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The winning streak keeps building at Providence, which has won 35 consecutive Liberty League matches, a number that could reach 39 by the end of the season.

Providence (12-1, 10-0) started the streak in 1997.

“People might look at that and say, ‘Oh, their league must be weak.’ ” Providence Coach Andrew Bencze said. “It’s not that case at all. It’s not like we roll over everybody in league.”

Bencze pointed out two matches against Viewpoint this season.

In the first match, the Pioneers trailed in the fifth game, 14-12, but rallied to win, 17-15. In the second match, they lost the first game and trailed in the second game, 11-3, before winning in four.

“[Viewpoint] thought this was their year,” Bencze said. “And to be honest with you, they were a serve away from it. But we’re so used to winning.”

Seniors Lauren Holt and Sonia Pelayo, four-year starters at outside hitter, have been part of the entire streak.

“As long as we’ve got them, we’ve been pretty hard to beat,” Bencze said.

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The Top 10

Rankings of region volleyball teams

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RK LW School (League) Rec. 1 1 La Reina (Tri-Valley) 14-0 2 2 Harvard-Westlake (Mission) 16-5 3 3 Westlake (Marmonte) 13-2 4 4 Royal (Marmonte) 17-4 5 5 La Canada (Rio Hondo) 11-0 6 7 Chatsworth (West Valley) 9-0 7 9 Valencia (Foothill) 13-2 8 10 Buena (Channel) 12-5 9 8 Flint. Sacred Heart (Mission) 8-3 10 NR Taft (West Valley) 8-1

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