Guards can’t find way in event
Jeff Tully
Bellarmine-Jefferson High boys’ volleyball player Brendon Doyle is a
fierce competitor who takes losses hard.
The Guards’ emotional and physical leader, Doyle -- a junior
returning all-league player -- was visibly upset Wednesday following
Bell-Jeff’s 15-5, 15-7 first-round loss to Canoga Park Armenian
General Benevolent Union in the 10th annual Providence Tournament at
Providence High.
It was the first match of the season for the Guards and first-year
Coach Miguel Segura.
“We know we have a young team and most of the guys realize it’s
going to be a learning process for us early in the season,” Segura
said.
“But for Brendon, he is such a great competitor and he wants to
win so badly, I know it’s a tough situation for him.”
Starting a pair of freshmen, the Guards were hoping to shake off
first-match jitters with a strong showing against the Titans (1-0) --
and their 6-foot-6 middle player Todd Haroutunian.
However, in the first game of the best-two-of-three match,
Bell-Jeff got off to a rocky start, as AGBU scored the first 11
points. The Guards were finally able to score their first point of
the season on an ace by Joseph Oshila.
But as the Guards attempted to get back into the match, sloppy
passing and unforced errors led to their downfall.
“We didn’t play well at all in that first game,” Segura said. “I
think some of the guys were a little nervous, it being our first
[match] and all. We had trouble handling the ball and we made
mistakes.
“But I thought we settled down and played better in that second
game. At least we didn’t make as many mistakes.”
There were six lead changes in the second game, as the Guards held
a 6-5 lead. But the Titans came on strongly and Bell-Jeff could only
get as close as 9-7.
Haroutunian wasn’t much of a factor in the contest, as the AGBU
player had trouble timing his kill attempts and didn’t block a lot of
Bell-Jeff’s shots at the net.
Doyle paced the Guards with six kills and teammate Vahe Issai
added five kills.
The Guards (0-2) also lost their second match of the tourney
Thursday, falling to Pasadena La Salle, 15-13, 15-11, 15-6.