Dynamic Duo Should Have Eagles Soaring

There are several reasons why Santa Margarita is The Times’ Orange County preseason No. 1 team. Two of those reasons stand out above the rest.

Six-foot-five seniors Blake Robinson and Damien Scott are two of the best players in the county. Robinson will go to Princeton and Scott is being recruited by USC, UCLA and UC Irvine, among others.

Sure, the Eagles may have a first-year coach and return only two starters, Robinson and Scott. But they are the defending Serra League champs with seven letter-winners returning. And they are deep, big and talented, although untested, with Robinson and Scott to lead the way.

And the two talents provide perfect complements to each other.

Scott is more impulsive; Robinson is more methodical. Robinson makes the quiet plays with perfect technique; Scott displays the fireworks with his athletic ability.

“Damien looks a little awkward at times,” Santa Margarita Coach John Hawks said. “He has no fear and he wants the ball every time. And he’s got more energy than anyone I’ve ever seen.

“He works his butt off in the weight room. In practice, he’s going 100 mph. He’s doing drills with the outside hitters, the middles, the opposites, he’s setting . . . he wants to be a Navy SEAL, so that tells you something about him.

“He’s got a ton of potential, and he’s only just beginning to start with technique.”

Technique has never been a problem for Robinson, but injuries have plagued him. A back injury kept him on the bench for most of his freshman season and last season he had to contend with a nagging shoulder injury.

“Blake’s pretty healthy right now,” Hawks said. “I think it’s due to him dedicating himself to the weight room. I remember him telling me, ‘Coach, [my shoulder] feels better after I lift,’ so I asked him, ‘Well, why are you only lifting three days a week? Why aren’t you lifting every day?’

“Blake is a great leader. He can motivate guys without getting down on them. Now, he’s not going to bounce balls off the ceiling, but he does the little things.

“And when there’s a big point, he wants the ball and if we get it to him, he’ll find a way to put it down.”

Putting the ball away is a favorite pastime for both, but it might not be their favorite part of the game.

“You know all the big guys can go up and make the big hit,” Scott said. “But it’s pretty much unheard of for big guys to make the big digs too.

“Big hits fire your team up.”

“But,” Robinson said, “digs demoralize the other team.”

Robinson is already one of the best all-around passing and defensive players in the county and that’s something Scott is working hard to improve. And there have been glimpses of improvement already.

“At the Junior Olympics, I watched Damien make one great play, then two, three, four, five, six more, and you begin to figure that this isn’t just an accident,” Hawks said. “He’s really turned it around.

“Now here’s this big guy flying around, digging balls. By the end of the tournament, he got to a point that we was bringing so much, now you can’t take him off the court.”

It wasn’t always that way for this duo. When they met during junior high at their volleyball club, Robinson climbed to the top of the age-group ladder. But Scott, well . . .

“Actually, he was pretty bad,” Robinson said with a laugh. “But no one’s that good at that age. I just remember he was pretty strong and he’d hit balls off the back wall.”

Said Scott: “I remember it took me so long to finish the passing drills.

“Back then, Blake was one of the top guys, you know, this awesome player who had the perfect technique. I wished I could’ve done that. I sort of looked up to him.”

Now they look to each other and hope they can lead the Eagles to another Southern Section title. And the Eagles appear to have some weapons to make a good run.

Setter Jack Pichard is a 6-2 junior who was an All-American at the 16s level at the Junior Olympics, and that was as an opposite.

Seniors Ryan Perry and Nick Celotto, who are both 6-2, are returning varsity outside hitters. Elio Fiorentini was one of the Eagles’ top back-row players last season. And there is more young size and talent.

Kevin Wollett, a 6-4 junior, is a middle blocker who has shown promise and Travis Toch, a 6-4 junior, will also join the team after basketball season ends.

How strong is Toch? He broke the glass backboard on one of the side baskets with a dunk during basketball practice, Hawks said. The Eagles are still waiting for a replacement hoop.

Scott and Robinson are hoping their championship wait ends this season.

“Senior year, winning CIF,” Robinson said. “Nothing would be better.”

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Other players to watch:

Zane Bermundo (Cypress), Ryan Burgess (Foothill), Nick Gardner (San Clemente), Brian Gallagher (Corona del Mar), Mike Gazzano (Mater Dei), Nate Hagstrom (Fountain Valley), Kris Kraushaar (Irvine), Nick Lehnert (El Dorado), Jared Levy (Capistrano Valley), Eric MacDonald (Brethren Christian), Sean McLaren (Edison), Paul Munoz (Mater Dei), Steffin Rangel (Marina), Robert Rubalcaba (Garden Grove), Scott Sebek (Woodbridge), Blake Tippett (Newport Harbor), Nic Vislay (Capistrano Valley), Austin Ybarra (Laguna Beach).