Setting pretty

While the Newport-Mesa area has produced a tremendous amount of

collegiate volleyball players, the setting position seems to be the one

that has made the greatest impact in the college game.

From Marie Lunde (USC, Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo), Kari Rush (Stanford)

and Suzie Crone (UCLA) in the 1970s to Wendi Rush (Stanford), Lara Asper

(Stanford), Sienna Curci (Cal), Cindy Kendall (Princeton), Jennifer

Noonan (Golden West), Chickie Moiso (Stanford), Rhonda Schnitger (UCI)

and Prentice Perkins (Long Beach State) in the ‘80s to Kristen Campbell

(Duke), Kim Coleman (UCLA), Kelly Campbell (Colorado), Melissa Ford

(Princeton), Corre Myer (Brown), Jeannette Hecker (Loyola Marymount),

Jennifer Carey (Hawaii), and even Misty May (Long Beach State) in the

‘90s, this area has produced a plethora of talented collegiate setters.

This season has been a banner year for honors for the setting alumni.

Jennifer Carey is the starting setter for the nationally third-ranked

University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahines. With NCAA playoffs favoring the top

four seeds, Hawaii should have every match at home in the playoffs,

including the Final Four.

A very mature freshman, Carey has stepped in very comfortably at Hawaii.

Former Calvary Chapel High star Whitney Hoover, who lives in Corona del

Mar, was recently named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week as

she led St. Mary’s (Moraga) to wins over Portland and Gonzaga.

Hoover had double-digit assists and digs in both matches. While at

Calvary, Hoover went to the state championship twice, once as a setter

and as an outside hitter.

Corona del Mar’s Kelly Campbell is finishing her senior year at the

University of Colorado and on Nov. 8, she was named the Division I

National Player of the Week after Colorado defeated Kansas State and Iowa

State.

Campbell has started every game during her career at Colorado and her

assist-per-game average is a nationally-best 14.32. She has over 6,000

assists in her collegiate career, was an All-American last season and

will surely garner similar honors after this year.

In the Ivy League, CdM’s Corre Myer was named Ivy League Player of the

Week for Oct. 23. Last year’s Ivy League Rookie of the Year, Myer led

Brown to victories over Yale and Stoney Brook.

The season’s stats show Myer leading the league in assists per game with

Princeton’s Melissa Ford (another former CdM setter), a close second.

At the recent Ivy League Championships, Princeton won the title to get

the automatic NCAA tournament bid. Head coach Glenn Nelson (a former

Orange Coast College setter) has produced 10 Ivy League champs in the

20-year history of the Ivy League Championship.

Co-captains Erika Hansen and Ford, who are both seniors and both from

Corona del Mar, led the 1999 Tigers. What a way to finish your career.

Princeton’s Sabrina King, a Harbor Day School alum, was the Ivy League’s

Player of the Year. Other notable Ivy League contributions were made by

Newport Harbor’s Laura Wells, who was fifth in digs and Julia Topik

(mother, Martha, teaches English at Newport) finished high in hitting,

assists (another local setter) and service aces.

At Loyola Marymount, Jeannette Hecker has been a starter for all four

years. With a tremendous talent to play the overall game, she has started

as a setter, outside hitter and a back-row specialist. She is currently

setting for the Lions and is on track to graduate in communications in

May.

Our local setters are making their mark in many different areas in

college. Two years ago, the area produced Corre Myer at Brown, Meghan

Clarke, who led Barry University (Miami, Florida) to the Division II

National Tournament, Kate Dwyer, who was the backup setter at UCLA and

Melissa Plass, who nearly led Pepperdine to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA

Division I Tournament. Pepperdine is currently ranked No. 8 in this

week’s poll.

With Jessica Wright (Calvary Chapel) committing to Eastern Washington and

another local setter applying to a prominent Ivy League school, the

tradition continues.

Hard work, great intensity and successful high school/club experiences

are key reasons for such great success stories throughout the years.

With the CIF Finals on Saturday, it’s important to remember that Jennifer

Carey and Kelly Campbell played in two CIF Finals while Jeanette Hecker

was in three, while Corre Myer’s Corona del Mar team won the 1997 CIF

championship.