Poly Players Get Jump at Making the Grade

Lineup changes are a part of Jimmy Ikeda’s life.

So is on-court strategy. And dealing with injuries. And scheduling practices.

But there’s one thing the Poly High girls’ volleyball coach doesn’t have to worry about--his players’ grades.

Four players--Youssra Marjoua, Jennifer DeRoze, Gaby Arvizu and Tonirose Parcon--are enrolled in the Early Start program at Poly, in which qualified students take classes at Valley College to gain college credit.

The program, in its second year, gives 60 Poly students a head start toward earning a college degree if they demonstrate advanced skills in math and English.

And it gives Ikeda peace of mind.

“I don’t have to worry about eligibility,” Ikeda said. “It’s simple.”

DeRoze, Arvizu and Parcon are taking three classes each this semester at Valley, while Marjoua, a senior middle blocker who carries a 4.4 grade-point average, takes all five of her classes at Valley.

This is Marjoua’s second year in the Early Start program. She could earn as many credits as a college junior by the time she graduates from Poly next spring.

“It’s putting us ahead of everybody,” said Marjoua, who is also distancing herself from the pack on the volleyball court.

She had 30 kills in a five-game victory Monday over North Hollywood that guaranteed the Parrots (10-1, 8-0) at least a share of the Sunset Six League championship.

The day was typical for Marjoua, who took classes at Valley for four hours before playing for the Parrots. After Poly won the three-hour match, Marjoua confronted another hurdle--homework. College-level homework.

“That happens a lot,” Marjoua said. “You have a long day, a long game and still you have homework and you’re tired.”

Marjoua, who wants to become a pre-med student and is considering UCLA, California and Stanford, realizes that the days are long, but the rewards might be greater.

“It’s going to be worthwhile at the end,” she said.

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A champion could be determined tonight in two of the top leagues in the region.

In the Marmonte League, Westlake (14-2, 9-0) stunned defending champion Royal (19-4, 8-1) three weeks ago with solid passing and serving. With a victory tonight at Westlake, the Warriors would clinch at least a share of their fourth league title in five years.

In the West Valley League, Chatsworth (11-0, 8-0) wasn’t able to stop Trisha Bratford earlier this month, but it was able to come away with a four-game victory against Taft (10-1, 7-1). A prime seeding in the City Section playoffs is also at stake tonight at Chatsworth.

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It might be on the dramatic side to say that Notre Dame plays its biggest match in years tonight at Flintridge Sacred Heart. But it might be true.

The winner might only finish second in the Mission League--Harvard-Westlake is the dominant team--but Notre Dame will take a victory, nonetheless.

“We’re rolling,” Notre Dame Coach Neil Coffman said. “We’re less and less killing ourselves and more and more performing. We’re right in there.”

If the Knights (9-4, 5-2) defeat the stumbling Tologs (8-5, 4-3), who have lost three of their last four matches, and then beat Louisville on Tuesday, their match against Harvard-Westlake (16-5, 7-0) next Thursday will determine the league champion.

“It’s been a while since we were in control,” Coffman said. “We have a shot to tie for the league championship. Hopefully, we can do it.”

Key to the Knights’ steady rise is outside hitter Sarah Braga.

Braga, a senior, had 15 kills without a hitting error in 28 attempts for a .536 hitting percentage in a recent match against Louisville. She had 24 kills against Chaminade, and 32 digs and 20 kills against Alemany.

“She’s on fire,” Coffman said.

As is the rest of his team.

The Top 10

Rankings of region volleyball teams

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RK LW School (League) Rec. 1 1 La Reina (Tri-Valley) 16-0 2 2 Harvard-Westlake (Mission) 18-5 3 3 Westlake (Marmonte) 15-2 4 4 Royal (Marmonte) 19-4 5 5 La Canada (Rio Hondo) 13-0 6 6 Chatsworth (West Valley) 11-0 7 7 Valencia (Foothill) 15-2 8 8 Buena (Channel) 11-6 9 NR Notre Dame (Mission) 9-4 10 10 Taft (West Valley) 10-1

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