Girls Volleyball: South Hills leads 'em out
By Steve Ramirez
1. South Hills (18-9)
A season ago, the South Hills High School girls volleyball team had more questions than answers. The Huskies were young but talented, and it just became a matter of how much coach Charm Doyle could limit the growing pains. It couldn't be any more different this season - South Hills, which closed the season by winning 13 consecutive matches before losing in the CIF-Southern Section division quarterfinals, comes into the new season as the top-ranked team in the area.
The Huskies, who begin the season ranked No. 4 in Division II-AA, feature a solid attack in junior middle blocker Melinda Gomez, outside hitter Haley Musulman and setter Danielle Stewart. "Last year we were really, really young," said Doyle, whose team finished a solid 18-9. "I was really impressed how they finished the season."
Gomez, who has a knack for reading opposing offenses, was dominant in the middle last season en route to earning first team All- Area. All three were All-San Antonio League. South Hills also returns senior outside hitter Rebecca Lai, who was second team all-league.
No. 2 Bonita (15-5 in '07)
The Bearcats made school history last season, sharing the Miramonte League title with Los Altos and advancing to the Division III-AA semifinals for the first time, where they finally ran out of gas, losing a five-game match to Village Christian. Bonita lost its best player - outside hitter Katy McCreery - but a strong nucleus returns in outside hitter Courtney Donaldson, middle blocker Allie LaPierre and setter Ashley Maxfeldt. Outside hitter Katie Kirby is also back.
No. 3 Walnut (20-8)
The Mustangs were a close second to South Hills in the San Antonio League, and they are back to challenge the Huskies again. Top player Melissa Cole is gone, but the cupboard is not bare for co-head coaches Angela and Mark McElroy. Walnut will rely on senior outside hitters Gabby Carreathers and Jennifer Silva. The Mustangs are also strong in the middle with junior Samantha Shellar. "I think we will battle South Hills," Mark McElroy said. "They are strong again, but we're going to try and hang with them. We should be pretty balanced. We have several hitters we can go to." The Mustangs, though, have a question mark in senior setter Tatiana Quiocho, whom they like to move around the court. Quiocho is recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury and her status for the season is still unknown.
No. 4 St. Lucy's (17-11)
The Regents were one of the most consistent teams down the stretch last season and should be one of the teams to beat in the Sierra League.
St. Lucy's, which is ranked No. 9 in Division II-AA, is led by senior outside hitters Angela Kramer and Tara Prater and sophomore middle blocker Megan Callen.
No. 5 Los Altos (23-10)
The Conquerors lost seven starters to graduation, including area player of the year Jade Esquivel, but Los Altos is still expected to challenge Bonita for supremacy in the Miramonte League. The key lies inside with sophomore middle blocker Jazmen Russell, who had a coming-out party last season. Los Altos also returns senior middle blocker Nigera Owens, junior opposite Megan Macias and senior setter Laura De La Vara.
"We just have to focus on the basics, because we are a much younger team," "If we stay mentally focused, we should be competitive."
No. 6. Diamond Bar (16-11)
The Brahmas are also a contender for the top spot in the highly competitive Sierra League. Diamond Bar's strength lies in all-league players Jamie Parke at outside hitter/setter and outside hitter Cassandra Momah. Freshman Kathleen Torres, an outside hitter, is also expected to be very productive. "I think we can be competitive," Diamond Bar coach Becky Bevans said. "But so is everyone else in our league. It's tough to say who is going to finish on top."
No. 7 Bishop Amat (16-10)
The Lancers are expected to be solid with the return of outside hitter Ariel Flowers and libero Kelly Bonja.
No. 8 Glendora (15-13)
The Tartans begin the season just outside the top 10 in Division II-AA. Jen Barbone's team struggled with consistency last year, but returns enough of a nucleus to challenge in the Sierra League.
No. 9 San Dimas (17-7)
The Saints, who advanced to the second round of the CIF-SS playoffs, begin the season ranked No. 7 in Division III-A. They will battle Ganesha for the top spot in the Valle Vista League. The Saints are led by middle blocker Melissa Hodges and setter Erica Fleck.
No. 10 Covina (17-7)
The Colts finished strong to qualify for the playoffs last season. Covina is led this season by outside hitters Melissa Davis, Kayla Welser and Morgan Petersen. Los Altos coach Anthony De La Vara said.
Comments
God - I just want to marry Walnut High School's #6 Jennifer Silva... She's SO hot!
Posted by: Doesitmatter? | October 7, 2008 3:48 PM
St.Lucy's defeated Alta Loma yesterday in 3 straight games. Leading the way was Senior Setter Allie Schuman whose steady overall game was a major factor. Senior outside hitter Lauren Frazier was having a fine game when a ankle sprain occurred. Sophmore Deanna Dalton also was very steady.
Posted by: tootney | September 23, 2008 5:51 AM
FYI-I already understood that Ganesha is not in the boundary area and that we will never be ranked by the tribune, I just was mentioning that Charter Oak should be ranked and is in the area I believe. The rankings I mentioned were CIF rankings, not the Tribunes. Charter Oak beat San Dimas handily last night and is now 5-0. There really isn't a blog for the Daily Bulletin that covers volleyball, and most of the teams in our league are in the SGV so we enjoy the commentary.
Posted by: GHigh Para Siempre | September 16, 2008 1:22 PM
31
Posted by: Steve Ramirez | September 15, 2008 11:16 PM
Got it thanks. So if the Tribune is available in that community then the local High School is covered and considered for rankings. Makes sense. How many high schools in the SG Valley area?
Posted by: vbl | September 15, 2008 7:35 PM
Vbl,
It's for all sports, and sometimes it changes from year to year, depending on our circulation boundries. Now sometimes we do cover out of area teams, but only when they are facing an area team, like when I covered the Azusa-Ganesha football game a few weeks ago. In those cases, we cover it from the local team angle.
Posted by: Steve Ramirez | September 15, 2008 7:22 PM
Steve, just wondering how do you determine the area? Im assuming its for all sports not just volleyball.
Keep posting G High, I like your insight. Just pretend you guys are ranked.
Posted by: vbl | September 15, 2008 5:28 PM
GHigh Para Siempre,
I'm only going to write this once, so read it closely: Ganesha is NOT IN OUR COVERAGE AREA. These are area rankings, so you will not see them in our Top 10. Thats why Covina, which was 17-7 last year, is ranked and Ganesha is not. Covina is an area team, while Ganesha is not. I hope that is clear to you.
Posted by: Steve Ramirez | September 15, 2008 11:16 AM
Gladstone Tourney had several ranked teams, although that doesn't mean much at this point. Gladstone is 9th in their Div., Gabrielino 5th, Ganesha 10th, Westridge? Covina ranked according to Fred? Charter Oak should definitely be in the top ten now in the SGV!
Posted by: GHigh Para Siempre | September 14, 2008 3:22 PM
Where there any ranked teams at the Glandstone tournament?
Posted by: sgvolley | September 14, 2008 8:24 AM
So Charter Oak beat Gabrielino in the finals of the Gladstone Tourney! You can't beat Gabrielino unless you are 4 real. Congrats to coach and I hope this will force Fred to rank u this week.
Posted by: GHigh Para Siempre | September 14, 2008 12:15 AM
I have spelling issues! Duh!
Posted by: GHigh Para Siempre | September 13, 2008 10:33 PM
Ganesha struggled a bit in the Gladstone tournament but learned a lot. We came in 7th and played Maranatha tough, but couldn't finish and win a game win it counted. We also struggled against a good passing Rowland team, but one in 4. We are looking forward to out tournament starting Thursday with our 6'0" MB coming back after a sprained ankle. Lots of good teams in Ganesha's Tri City Tourney including St. Lucy's, Saugus, Canyon, Gabrielino, San Dimas, Ontario, Estancia-just to name a few.
Posted by: GHigh Para Siempre | September 13, 2008 10:26 PM
I wouldn't want to predict that, especially since I haven't seen Walnut or South Hills and both are usually stacked with quality players. Just that West Covina is well coached and fun to watch and deserves mentioning. You never know in this sport.
Posted by: GHigh Para Siempre | September 13, 2008 10:11 PM
G High- You said West Covina looked so good they may suprise the powerhouses in their league because they went 4 with Gabrielino. Are you predicting they will beat South Hills or Walnut or both in league play?
Posted by: sgvolley | September 12, 2008 10:27 PM
Next week will be the test for some teams on this list. Walnut, San Dimas!, St. Lucy's, Covina,Rowland, and West Covina will respresent the SGV in the Tri City Tourney against Saugus, Canyon, Gabrielino, Estancia, Ganesha and other strong opponents. Should help with figuring out the rankings.
Posted by: SD High Forever | September 12, 2008 9:06 PM
Volleyball is a sport that should be more popular. After the success at the olympics (that's all anyone talks about) we should try and expand the sport. Coaches, parents, and players should share there views and have fun with this blog. Good luck to everyone and let the smack talking begin.
Posted by: GHigh Para Siempre | September 12, 2008 8:38 PM
That St. Lucy's win is a big win. St. Josephs is usually pretty good. St. Josephs made it to the quarterfinals last year beating Walnut.
Posted by: vbl | September 12, 2008 5:23 PM
Last nights St.Lucy's vs Lakewood St. Josephs went 5 games with St.Lucy's coming out on top. St.Lucy's displayed several hitters who contributed to the victory most notably Tara Prater and Deanna Dalton. Laura Frazier had key hits as well. The Middle players Kristen Gasparo & Megan Callen were a equally effect duo. Coach Sean has the team undergoing conditioning programs which are showing up in the latter stages of their matches.
Posted by: TOOTNEY | September 12, 2008 8:54 AM
I watched Anne Kim that night and she was contained in the first set but lack of counter moves let her get unleashed. Los Altos had 4-5 girls that could block but did nothing with it because of the mis matches when Gabrillano change the set. The LA middle (Owens) had a bunch of blocks the first game and then with the move not much the remainder of the game.
I followed the valley teams last year and no one had the arsenal of hitters that LA had last year. This year South Hills has the best hitting team, it will be interesting to see how it goes.
Gomez will be this years Anne Kim.
Posted by: volleyball follower | September 12, 2008 7:01 AM
West Covina should be considered for the SGV ranking this year. They have a very cohesive team that really challenged Gabrielino last night, but lost in 4. I have no doubt they will make CIF this year and may surprise the power houses in their league.
Posted by: GHigh Rules | September 12, 2008 5:58 AM
Annie Kim (Gabrielino) got a ton of kills that night, may have been a school record.
Posted by: volleyball follower | September 11, 2008 5:49 PM
Posted by: C-Dawg The 5er | September 12, 2008 1:11 AM
ericka fleck graduated c/o 2008. setter is nicole ethridge
Posted by: sdfan | September 11, 2008 11:29 PM
@ HH, you already know who that goes....Shoudve , couldve , wouldve! That doesnt cut it. One girl cant win a volleyball match. Los Altos got beat, have good sportsmanship and move on!
Posted by: patrick | September 11, 2008 10:10 PM
I think South Hills played(scrimmaged)Glendora this week. Did anyone hear how this turned out?
Posted by: volleyfan | September 11, 2008 8:41 PM
South Hills should not be touched by any team in the valley this year, Charm has one of her better teams this year. Gomez will be player of the year this year and probably next.
Wow, LA got beat by Diamond Bar and I saw them get beat earlier in the summer by AMAT. It will be interesting to see what DeLaVara will do this year in league. Bonita will still be strong as well as the resurgence of Charter Oak. They will be lucky to take third. Overall what I have seen is that there is no cohesiveness. DeLaVara got by last year on talent and then got beat in CIF by a team that they should have beat but he refused to make the moves he needed. Walnut may also make some noise, i saw them this summer also, they also beat LA.
I can't wait to see St. Lucy's this year, they still have some good athletes but lost a big hitter.
Let the games begin!!!!
Posted by: volleyball follower | September 11, 2008 5:49 PM
Don't think so. The only player that LA has that is good is no. 9. We just tired her out.
Posted by: DB | September 11, 2008 3:47 PM
Diamond Bar beat Los Altos in 5, but I think the outcome would have been much different if middle blocker Nigeria Owens wouldn't have obtained an injury in the first game.
Posted by: HH | September 11, 2008 3:43 PM
GO BONITA!
Posted by: bearcats | September 11, 2008 3:26 PM
Tuesdays games should all have been scrimmages so the results of those matches should be taken with a grain of salt. Does anyone have any results of other Tuesday scrimmages?
Posted by: sgvolley | September 11, 2008 2:50 PM
Well Diamond Bar just knocked off Los Altos on tuesday!
Posted by: patrick | September 11, 2008 2:30 PM
2 of the top 3 are from the San Antonio league.
Posted by: sgvolley | September 11, 2008 2:21 PM
No doubt the Sierra League is the most competitive in the SGV. Next would be the Miramonte, then Valle Vista and Montview. La Puente (if considered in the area) has a good chance of taking league this year. Ganesha is ranked 10th in Div. IIIA for the first time in many years (20?) and is hoping to dethrone San Dimas, but it won't be easy. Finally some volleyball blogging! Who else is strong this year? I know Charter Oak is a veteran team with great leadership and they should probably be ranked as well.
Posted by: GHigh Para Siempre | September 11, 2008 1:21 PM
3 sierra league teams in the top 10. With Ayala and Chino Hills is it the most competitive league in the SGV?
Posted by: vbl | September 11, 2008 10:36 AM