On their game

Mike Sciacca

Tracy Lindquist remembers a time when she and her friends would go

down to the volleyball sand courts near the Huntington Beach Pier and

search for o7 anybodyf7 to accept a challenge match.

“We would almost beg for a chance to play somebody,” the 21-year-old

recalls of her junior year of high school. “When we did play, we would

routinely get whipped. But we had fun, and made friends with the other

women who played volleyball at the pier on a regular basis.”

Some of those women who befriended Tracy, her older sister Katie, and

their friends, still play at the pier. They will get the chance to see

the Lindquist sisters play on the sands of Huntington Beach in a whole

different light this Memorial Day weekend when the Assn. of Volleyball

Professionals kicks off its 2002 AVP season with the Huntington Beach

Open.

The duo is seeded 14th in this, the second year that the AVP has

incorporated women’s play.

The Lindquists won’t know of their opponent until after the qualifying

tournament, which begins Friday.

Their first round match will be played sometime Saturday morning.

“We’re both very excited to be playing in Huntington Beach, in front

of friends and family,” said Katie Lindquist.

The Lindquist sisters played on last year’s tour and finished in 17th

and ninth place in two tournaments.

They tuned up for this weekend’s Huntington Beach Open by winning the

Bud light Six Pack Open at Ocean Beach in San Diego last weekend.

That tournament was just another typical weekend for these volleyball

siblings, who fund their own way to these tournaments.

Katie and Tracy Lindquist were introduced to volleyball at a young age

by their father, Dave, who was a volleyball coach at Westminster High

School. The two went on to play at Ocean View High School and dominated

the court. They played together only one year, when Katie was a senior

and Tracy, a junior.

Katie said that that year was the “most fun volleyball team I’ve ever

played on.”

The 5-foot-6 Katie was all-league all four years at Ocean View and

twice earned the Golden West League’s MVP award. She earned All-CIF

status and went on to play at the University of San Diego and, although

her volleyball career continues to flourish, she is also a full-time

third-grade teacher.

The 5-foot-7 Tracy, who also aspires to a career in education, also

was all-league, a two-time league MVP, a three-time All-CIF choice, and

two-time All-American while at Ocean View. She just completed her third

year at USC, where she played setter for the Trojans. She won two

academic awards this past season, one through the university, the other

through the Pacific-10 Conference.

As a tandem on the AVP tour, the sisters play off each other’s

strengths and weaknesses. Constructive criticism is sometimes offered

although having played together for such a long time, they have a set

flow on the court.

Trust -- and playing off instinct, are two key components to their

game, they say.

“It’s been a lot of fun playing on the tour together and it’s been a

bonding experience,” Tracy said.

Although the Lindquists are fairly new to the AVP tour, they have made

friends with many of the their competitors. They say that although they

will be on familiar ground in Huntington Beach this weekend -- the two

coach in the Junior Spikers beach volleyball program at the pier during

the summer months, they feel they will be on equal footing with their

opponents.

“I don’t really see us having a huge hometown advantage,” Katie

Lindquist said. “We’re just really excited to be playing at the pier, at

a place where we’ve played for such a long time.”

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at (714)

965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.