Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week: Jacqueline Becker

Steve Virgen

Though she did not finish her season the way she had planned,

Jacqueline Becker showed plenty of reasons why she is a winner, and a

leader. She has been the Corona del Mar High girls volleyball team’s

athlete of the week, every week.

Even in defeat the CdM senior showed glimpses of what she’s all about.

There are many mechanics of her position that she should be focused on,

but that’s second nature to her, so she concentrates on just one thing.

Plain and simple, the girl wants to win.

“I try not to think too much about the whole technical thing,” said

Becker, the Sea Kings’ captain and setter. “I just think about the

competitiveness. I just want to win.”

Her desire is a big reason CdM Coach Bill Christiansen calls Becker

“the Joe Montana of the Sea Kings.”

She brings out the best from her teammates. That was on display when

she set 33 assists to lead CdM to a CIF Southern Section Division III-A

quarterfinal victory in three games at Gabrielino. She also dished out 35

assists in a first-round victory over visiting Desert Hot Springs, also

in three games. But Becker is more than statistics, Christiansen said.

The Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week proved Christiansen’s point when CdM

lost at Bishop Montgomery in five games Tuesday.

“We were down 2-1 (in games against Bishop Montgomery) and she rallied

(the Sea Kings) to push on to that fifth game,” said Christiansen, who

coached Becker as a freshman on his junior varsity squad. “She gets to

balls that 90% of setters can’t get to. She moves the ball around like a

college setter.”

Against the Knights, Becker encouraged her teammates to overcome the

odds. In the statistical category, she amassed 51 assists, served two

aces and added three kills.

She was the catalyst, to say the least, of CdM’s comeback. Of her 51

assists, 31 went to senior teammate Morgan Smith, who led the match in

kills. In each timeout, after each point and during game breaks, Becker

continually told her teammates to press on. And when the action ensued,

the senior setter inspired the Sea Kings with her play.

“It’s important to lead by example,” Becker said of her role as team

captain. “It gives me incentive to do better. As long as you’re able to

lead the team, I think that is the main focus of the setter and also

being able to be unpredictable with your sets.”

Her inspirational performances have been intensified this season

because she is a senior. That’s the reason she was a bit frustrated to

learn CdM would not compete in state competition this year. She wanted

another chance to win.

“I really wanted to beat someone to end the season,” Becker said.

“This year every game has been more important. Every match I knew it

would be my last time playing a certain team. I tried to make it a good

one to remember.”

As she closed out her season, she mainly cherished the Sea Kings’

victory over Back Bay rival Newport Harbor Sept. 20. She led CdM to rally

from a 2-0 deficit in games.

Becker said she will also cherish the time spent with her teammates

and former coach Steve Conti.

For next year, Becker is deciding either to walk on at Stanford

University or go back East and play for Yale or Columbia.