So you wanna talk volleyball???
With thanks from our dependable volleyball guru Andrew Campa, we hope to satisfy your thirst for volleyball (since one of you asked). I don't know how popular girls volleyball is in these parts, but I'm guessing I'm going to find out...Click here and enjoy....
It may have been the best match of the year. Nearly 800 raucous fans
crowded the Flintridge-Sacred Heart Student Activity Center last
November to watch a five-game thriller in which La Salle High School
defeat FSHA 23-25, 24-26, 25-21, 25-23, 18-16. The Lancers win sent
La Salle to the Division IV-AA finals and also answered the season
long question as to which team is the best in the West San Gabriel.
Here are this year's preseason rankings:
1. With Mission League MVP Julie Herrera (outside hitter) back along with maybe the most intelligent player in the area in junior setter Sam Orlandini, the Tologs are clearly the team to beat in this area. After winning a school-record 30 games last season in the area's second toughest league, the bitter taste of defeat should only fuel FSHA.
2. Even though additions Burbank and Burbank Burroughs will offer a new challenge in League, expect Arcadia to still be on top of the Pacific League when the season ends. Coach Charles Freburg returns five seniors including one of the Pacific League's best in outside hitter Sarah Oglesby. Expect middle blocker Stephanie Stillman to be among the league's best in blocks.
3. No team has made more strides in the last few years then Westridge. The Prep League runner up finished with 21 wins last year, up from 14 in 2004 and 10 wins in 2003. Senior outside hitter Kelly McCall will be the focal point of this year's offense. Unlike most area teams, the Tigers did not lose an inordinate amount of players to graduation. Westridge returns nine of 11 people from last year's squad.
4. The area's most dominant player is back in Pasadena senior Kimmee Roleder. The outside hitter, who averaged about 35 kills a game, looks lead PHS to its first girls volleyball league title this decade and past last season's second-round postseason appearance. The key to the Bulldogs success will be how well and how often junior setter Casey Klein can get Roleder the ball. Klein spent part of her summer training with La Salle coach Mark Mina and should be apt for the challenge.
5. Few teams are going to have as difficult a challenge repeating last season's success as La Salle. Gone are Star-News Player of the Year Gillian Heydorff and second-teamers Lauren Harding (outside hitter) and Colleen Miller (setter) as well as several other seniors.
The good news is that middle blockers Sarah Serdienis (senior) and Brittany Thomas (junior) return some size to a team that will include quite a few underclassmen. Even though La Salle moves up to Division II-AA, it's arguable that La Salle's new league (Del Rey) is not as formidable as the the old Sunshine League.
the rest of the rankings:
6. La Canada
7. Gabrielino
8. Mayfield
9. South Pasadena
10. Flintridge Prep
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About this blog
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Melendez worked as a correspondent for the San Gabriel Valley Tribune for three years and later landed a job as a freelance writer at the Los Angeles Times before accepting an offer at The Orange County Register covering high schools. Melendez covered Major League Soccer at The Register for three years before being promoted to report on the Lakers, Angels and Dodgers for the Web. Melendez also worked for the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Fresno Bee, Oakland Tribune and The Boston Globe. E-mail opinions, suggestions and tips to miguel.melendez@sgvn.com. |
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Gabrielino opens in the Gladstone Tourney @ 3pm today; St Lucy was in our summer tournament and may have won it I dont know...
Great start for the new season...interesting top 10. Larry does deserve some recognition, he's been there a long time and done a great job. Is St. Lucy's in our area? I think they should be considered in the top 10 if they are.
I'm glad to see early coverage of Girls Volleyball. Thanks Fred, keep it up. I would argue that it is the most popular fall sport after football.
I agree that San Gabriel deserves to be in the top 10. One thing no one can deny is the area is full of deserving teams, and making comparisons is is tough job.
Gabrielino is gonna be hard to handle with Kelsey Duling in her senior year; she can fire 5 or 6 aces right off the cannon;
Well, thanks...my thirst has been quenched, albeit temporarily.
Good list of the top ten. I am sure it will generate some debate but nonetheless good insight.
San Gabriel wins their league every year but once since 1988, consistently goes deep into the playoffs, and is arguably the most dominant program in any sport in the SGV in the last 20 years, yet Larry Kanow and the Matadors can't find their way in the Top 10? Any discussion about volleyball that doesn't include San Gabriel is incomplete.