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Girls' volleyball preview
Senior-laden Costa should have a banner year; Inexperienced Redondo seeks competitiveness
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Mira Costa's senior dominated roster hopes to climb the ladder towards a CIF title. From left, Kristin Nelson, Brooke Donahue, Jamie Grass, Lexy Beers, Kristen Anderson. Photo by John Tawa. |
Mira Costa
The goal at Mira Costa High School in girls' volleyball is the same every year: to hang a CIF championship banner on the wall at Fisher Gymnasium.
This may well be the year the Mustangs do it. They return four starters from last year's CIF finalists and are loaded with talent up and down the lineup. They're strong defensively, hit well, are taller than last year's 23-5 team and have vocal senior leadership.
They also have legendary coach DaeLea Aldrich, under whom Costa has compiled a 445-52 record since 1982, with 15 straight undefeated league campaigns.
Although the Mustangs haven't won a CIF title since 1995, Aldrich said that this year's team has the right formula to take Costa's seventh CIF banner in the last 19 years.
"We win by being a little more prepared," she explained. "We have the maturity of the kids who've been on the path twice before. We have a much better balanced attack, some height we've never had before and a big bench with depth that can put the ball away.
"It's got to be us. It's just got to be."
The team's quarterback is 5-9 senior setter Lexy Beers, a three-year starter. Beers, who has committed to attend Texas A&M, is a talented playmaker who has grown as a leader.
"She'll run offense with a lot of consistency and put the ball where it has to be for the kids," Aldrich explained.
Junior sparkplug Nora Pirzynski will back up Beers and will also play in the backcourt for the Mustangs. Junior Keegan Featherstone also figures in the mix both at setter and in the backcourt.
The setters are expected to feed the outside often this year, because that's where the strength of this squad lies. Outside starts with bulldog Brooke Donahue, a second-team all-CIF performer last year and two-year starter. Although slowed by injuries to both knees, she can be dominant on the court with her powerful kills.
Donahue is complemented perfectly by smallish senior Jamie Grass. The 5-7 returning all-league outside hitter is adept at tooling the block against much larger girls and plays outstanding defense.
Senior Kristen Anderson, slowed by an ankle injury last year, and 6-1 junior Jessica Veris will also make major contributions on the outside. Anderson is much improved and Veris, a darkhorse to start, is the group's hardest hitter.
Two-time all-league middle blocker Kristin Nelson moves to the outside this year to play opposite, giving Beers an athletic hitter on the right side.
"We'll go to her a lot plus she's a good little blocker," Aldrich said.
Costa's middles are young, but tall. They should block well, but with such strong outside hitters, they probably won't be asked to hit too often. Six-foot junior Teryn Spragg and 5-11 senior Claire Gillespie, both coming off of strong club seasons, will start in the middle for the Mustangs. In addition to being capable blockers, they both are strong backcourt defenders. Junior Hilary Stromath, at 6-3, is the tallest of the middles and primed to make an impact against larger, slower teams.
"Hilary's doing real well in practice," Aldrich said. "She blocks a lot of balls."
Last year's team had success by playing great defense and forcing opponents into mistakes. While Costa will still excel in that area, more offense should allow the Mustangs to take the next step.
"That is the difference," Aldrich said. "I think we'll put more balls away."
The team's core members have been together since they were sophomores. They have taken the pressure to win a CIF title squarely where it belongs: on their own shoulders. Now it's time to make it happen.
Aldrich wants her girls to win very badly and said there's only one thing that will be worse than not winning CIF.
"Losing them," she said. "Just because they've been a great bunch of kids to work with. They've been just fun and nice girls. And they work very hard."
Redondo Union
They're singing a different tune over at Redondo Union High School.
The Sea Hawks are a very young, very inexperienced team searching for an identity.
"My team is young and they have limited varsity experience age wise," said head coach Loreen Trevino-Okata, who returns for her ninth year coaching the varsity. "This is the first time they're all playing together as a team."
After last year's disappointing 5-11 campaign, it seems there's no place to go but up.
Senior setter Jessika Togut is the only returning starter. At 5-5, she's small and has trouble blocking at the net, but she's learned to run the offense effectively and has moments of greatness. Junior Kristina Hill and sophomore Liz Stein are in a battle for the backup setter spot, an important position when the Sea Hawks go to their two-setter offense.
It is a distinction Trevino-Okata would like to see the inconsistent Stein earn. She has the ability, but must overcome the fear of failing, Trevino-Okata explained.
Redondo has two strong outside hitters in junior Courtney Spainhour and sophomore Danielle Pratt. The 5-9 Spainhour, stepping outside the shadow of her graduated volleyball-playing sister Brittany, has been the big gun in the early going.
"She's on fire right now," said Trevino-Okata. "She can hit every set, She's not afraid of anything or anybody."
Pratt is even more talented than Spainhour, but she's young and has not yet come into her own. Trevino-Okata also would like to see her take a more active leadership role on the team. Sophomore Amber Chisholm will see a lot of time on the outside, especially when Redondo goes to a 5-1 offense with Togut as the sole setter.
Junior Gillian Meenan and senior Jasmine Arjasbi patrol the middle. Meenan is a 5-10 lefty with quickness who adapts well to where the ball is set. Arjasbi, who also plays on Redondo's champion basketball team, is a winner and a leader.
The wild card in the middle is junior Sarah Bartlett. Trevino-Okata calls her the "hidden weapon."
"She can be the player who'll surprise block, dig balls and make nice passes," she said.
Allison Trippy, Aushley Baker and Trisha Minton are smallish players who will be called on to provide back row support.
As expected, the team has struggled in the early going, dropping contests to Bishop Montgomery, Chadwick and South Torrance as coach Trevino-Okata searches for a starting lineup that plays well together and gives the team the best chance to win.
The Sea Hawks should improve greatly as the season progresses, the team gains experience and develops the chemistry that begets success.
That said, expecting a .500 league record in the tough Bay League is unrealistic and Trevino-Okata hopes that parents don't define success this year by wins and losses.
"We're going to take our lumps early," she explained. "We want to go the distance with each team, not get blown out and play every point.
If we can go step by step and play well, we could knock off some teams." ER