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2009 GIRLS’ VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW:
Area programs push for playoffs
Flintridge Sacred Heart, Crescenta Valley and Holy Family look to reach postseason again, while other schools try to keep pace.
By Gabriel Rizk
GLENDALE — Across three cities and five different leagues, the seven area girls’ volleyball programs will compete throughout the 2009 season with a common goal in mind — making the playoffs.
For some teams that haven’t reached the postseason in a while, that alone might be enough to constitute a successful campaign.
Others that have established themselves as playoff squads in recent years will be looking for more.
Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy was eliminated from the CIF Southern Section Division I-AA playoffs in the first round last year, but will now look to get closer to the standards of previous seasons that saw the Tologs reel off a string of semifinals appearances and even a run to the Division I-A title game in 2007.
First, Sacred Heart will once again have to get through the tough Mission League, where it placed second last year.
Leading the Tologs in that effort will be top returners Mary Schroeder and Camille Coffey, both all-league selections a year ago, and Alyssa Walton and Momo McDonald.
Schroeder and McDonald, the senior middles, and Coffey and Walton, a pair of juniors who play on the outside, will share the court with a mix of sophomores that will be expected to adjust quickly to the varsity game.
Alessandra Orlandini will fill the setter role previously held by her cousins Sam and Jenna Orlandini, consecutively, Laura Schroeder will see time in the middle and Shelby Tom is the likely libero.
“We’re pretty young there,” Sacred Heart Coach Shelli Orlandini said. “Laura, Alessandra and Shelby all play on the same club team, so they know how to play together. They just need to get some experience under their belt and a little bit of savvy. Right now, it’s a big jump from JV to varsity and they’ve just gotta be able to make the transition smoothly.”
Defending champion Harvard-Westlake and a stacked Louisville team will be the Tologs’ toughest obstacles in league.
In the Pacific League, Crescenta Valley is also looking to extend its season past the first round of the postseason after improving from a fourth-place finish in 2007 to contending for the league title up until the last match of the season before finishing tied for second last year.
Starters Lorrin Cheeney and Kim Cox have both graduated, but the returners include seniors Rachel Fisher and Jessica Dieny in the middle as well as outside hitters Julia Adams, a senior, and junior Leah Gagliardi, who made the all-league first team last season after leading the Falcons with 121 kills.
Arcadia and Burroughs will be the Falcons’ top competition in league, but Hoover and Glendale, who finished tied with each other for sixth last year, will also look to be more of a presence coming off a string of sub-par seasons.
Tornadoes Coach Charles Min has the benefit of a roster stocked with seniors, led by the front-row corps of outside hitters Sara Ortiz and Cynthia Hom and middles Rachel Sears and Meagan Knight.
“I think this team has a lot of talent and when they’re on they can be pretty competitive,” Min said. “One of the goals I set out for every year is to make the playoffs. We’ve fallen short in the past, but that’s always a goal you’ve just gotta keep working towards.”
Second-year Nitros Coach Jennifer Vo doesn’t have the same kind of returning depth, but will lean heavily on a pair of seniors with club experience in April Reed and Alyssa Magpantay.
“They’re my two strongest players that I’m putting a lot of pressure on because they have a lot more experience,” Vo said. “Offensively, we’re still shaky, but I think we’ll get there.”
The only other local team to make the playoffs last season was Holy Family, which welcomes new Coach James Jimenez and will feature a new lineup compared to the last two postseason teams the program has produced out of the Horizon League.
“I feel like we’re making a lot of progress already,” Jimenez said.
Outside hitter Rebecca Bloom is the only senior on the Gaels’ roster, which does feature returning juniors Gayle Lachica at outside hitter and setter Rebecca Sanchez.
“Our passing will help keep us in games even when other teams might be more offensively skilled than us,” Jimenez said.
Flintridge Prep will also be very strong defensively, according to veteran Coach Sean Beattie.
But without many of their offensive weapons returning, the Rebels may be in for another tough go in the Prep League, where they finished winless last year.
Senior outside hitter Marin Seifert and libero Tori Glebocki and setter Casey Muerer, both juniors, are the top returning starters, with junior defensive specialist Charlotte Kay expected to move onto the first team, as well.
“It’s gonna take some time,” Beattie said. “We’ve got a lot of returners, but, unfortunately, those are all back-row girls. Marin is really the only true returner from our offensive standpoint.”
Glendale Adventist Academy will undertake the biggest rebuilding project of any area program.
The Cougars graduated seven seniors and another three juniors did not return to the team. Junior libero Emily Ferrolino will lead a team made up largely of sophomores and freshmen looking to surprise some people in the Westside League.
“This is going to be an interesting year,” Coach Bianka Tulgar said. “This is probably our most basic year of starting from the essentials.”
For some teams that haven’t reached the postseason in a while, that alone might be enough to constitute a successful campaign.
Others that have established themselves as playoff squads in recent years will be looking for more.
Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy was eliminated from the CIF Southern Section Division I-AA playoffs in the first round last year, but will now look to get closer to the standards of previous seasons that saw the Tologs reel off a string of semifinals appearances and even a run to the Division I-A title game in 2007.
First, Sacred Heart will once again have to get through the tough Mission League, where it placed second last year.
Leading the Tologs in that effort will be top returners Mary Schroeder and Camille Coffey, both all-league selections a year ago, and Alyssa Walton and Momo McDonald.
Schroeder and McDonald, the senior middles, and Coffey and Walton, a pair of juniors who play on the outside, will share the court with a mix of sophomores that will be expected to adjust quickly to the varsity game.
Alessandra Orlandini will fill the setter role previously held by her cousins Sam and Jenna Orlandini, consecutively, Laura Schroeder will see time in the middle and Shelby Tom is the likely libero.
“We’re pretty young there,” Sacred Heart Coach Shelli Orlandini said. “Laura, Alessandra and Shelby all play on the same club team, so they know how to play together. They just need to get some experience under their belt and a little bit of savvy. Right now, it’s a big jump from JV to varsity and they’ve just gotta be able to make the transition smoothly.”
Defending champion Harvard-Westlake and a stacked Louisville team will be the Tologs’ toughest obstacles in league.
In the Pacific League, Crescenta Valley is also looking to extend its season past the first round of the postseason after improving from a fourth-place finish in 2007 to contending for the league title up until the last match of the season before finishing tied for second last year.
Starters Lorrin Cheeney and Kim Cox have both graduated, but the returners include seniors Rachel Fisher and Jessica Dieny in the middle as well as outside hitters Julia Adams, a senior, and junior Leah Gagliardi, who made the all-league first team last season after leading the Falcons with 121 kills.
Arcadia and Burroughs will be the Falcons’ top competition in league, but Hoover and Glendale, who finished tied with each other for sixth last year, will also look to be more of a presence coming off a string of sub-par seasons.
Tornadoes Coach Charles Min has the benefit of a roster stocked with seniors, led by the front-row corps of outside hitters Sara Ortiz and Cynthia Hom and middles Rachel Sears and Meagan Knight.
“I think this team has a lot of talent and when they’re on they can be pretty competitive,” Min said. “One of the goals I set out for every year is to make the playoffs. We’ve fallen short in the past, but that’s always a goal you’ve just gotta keep working towards.”
Second-year Nitros Coach Jennifer Vo doesn’t have the same kind of returning depth, but will lean heavily on a pair of seniors with club experience in April Reed and Alyssa Magpantay.
“They’re my two strongest players that I’m putting a lot of pressure on because they have a lot more experience,” Vo said. “Offensively, we’re still shaky, but I think we’ll get there.”
The only other local team to make the playoffs last season was Holy Family, which welcomes new Coach James Jimenez and will feature a new lineup compared to the last two postseason teams the program has produced out of the Horizon League.
“I feel like we’re making a lot of progress already,” Jimenez said.
Outside hitter Rebecca Bloom is the only senior on the Gaels’ roster, which does feature returning juniors Gayle Lachica at outside hitter and setter Rebecca Sanchez.
“Our passing will help keep us in games even when other teams might be more offensively skilled than us,” Jimenez said.
Flintridge Prep will also be very strong defensively, according to veteran Coach Sean Beattie.
But without many of their offensive weapons returning, the Rebels may be in for another tough go in the Prep League, where they finished winless last year.
Senior outside hitter Marin Seifert and libero Tori Glebocki and setter Casey Muerer, both juniors, are the top returning starters, with junior defensive specialist Charlotte Kay expected to move onto the first team, as well.
“It’s gonna take some time,” Beattie said. “We’ve got a lot of returners, but, unfortunately, those are all back-row girls. Marin is really the only true returner from our offensive standpoint.”
Glendale Adventist Academy will undertake the biggest rebuilding project of any area program.
The Cougars graduated seven seniors and another three juniors did not return to the team. Junior libero Emily Ferrolino will lead a team made up largely of sophomores and freshmen looking to surprise some people in the Westside League.
“This is going to be an interesting year,” Coach Bianka Tulgar said. “This is probably our most basic year of starting from the essentials.”
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