La Reina Sizes Up Westlake, Puts Down Warriors in Four

They heard the whispers, which sometimes weren’t so soft.

La Reina High was too small, played few quality opponents, was in too weak of a division to be any good.

Little La Reina came up with a big nonleague victory Tuesday night, dropping Westlake, 10-15, 15-7, 15-8, 15-11, at Westlake.

Score one for small ball.

If La Reina (7-0) hadn’t blown a 10-5 lead in the first game, allowing 10 consecutive points, the match would have been a sweep.

Still, La Reina will happily take a victory over a larger-division opponent, be it in three, four or five games.

“People were questioning how good we really were because we sailed through preseason,” said 6-foot-2 middle blocker Jennifer Ryan, who had 22 kills. “I think this will prove to everyone that we’re for real.”

One of the goals this season for La Reina, ranked No. 1 in the region by The Times, is to advance past the Southern Section Division IV-AA quarterfinals, a traditional pitfall for the Regents.

All indications are good for the Regents, who have stepped up their nonleague competition in order to be ready and steady by the time playoffs roll around.

“We’ve just made the transition to playing bigger schools in the area,” said Coach Don Hyatt of La Reina, which plays Thousand Oaks on Oct. 15. “They’re people that we want to be involved with.”

Westlake (3-1) was in trouble before the first serve. Starting outside hitter Alexis Varian did not play because she sprained her left ankle during practice Monday, landing on a teammate’s foot after attempting a block.

Varian, who missed most of last season because of mononucleosis, wasn’t the only injured Westlake player. Lauren Mills played, but was not at full strength because of a sprained ankle suffered last week against Moorpark.

In general, the Warriors looked less fluid than they did two weeks ago in a five-game victory over Buena.

Their defense had trouble stopping Ryan and Ashlie Hain, two of the top juniors in the area, and the Warriors’ service reception was poor.

La Reina had 12 aces.

“Their serves were just above the tape [of the net],” Coach Karen Suppan-Klee of Westlake said. “They did an awesome job of serving tough.”

Tawny Thorp finished with 17 kills, Stacey Lee had 11 and Mills added seven for the Warriors, who don’t have much time to tinker because their next two matches are against Marmonte League heavy-hitters Thousand Oaks and Royal.

Hain, a setter-outside hitter, started slowly, but finished with 13 kills and 33 assists for La Reina.

“With her and [Ryan], they’re just fun to watch,” Hyatt said. “She sets that ball up tight to Jen, then it’s just target practice.”