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.