Alyson Jennings

Barry Faulkner

Alyson Jennings appreciates volleyball the same way those who know

the sport appreciate her play. Either case involves a broad

perspective and specifics don’t apply.

“People are starting to notice her a lot more, but volleyball

people have always noticed her,” Newport Harbor High girls volleyball

coach Dan Glenn said of the 5-foot-8 junior. “She just does all the

little things.”

Jennings, a three-year starter who helped the Sailors win the CIF

Southern Section Division II-AA championship and advance to Tuesday’s

Southern California Regional Division II final, displays a similar

all-around approach when discussing her passion for the game.

“It’s just so much fun,” said the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week,

who had 11 kills and four ace serves in the Tars’ 12-15, 15-9, 15-7,

8-15, 15-12 regional semifinal win over South Torrance Saturday. She

also had eight kills, two aces and six assists in a regional sweep of

Highland from Bakersfield Nov. 26. “I’m pretty much always around a

volleyball. There isn’t a week that goes by when I don’t play, either

indoor or at the beach.”

Beach volleyball, most often played with two-person teams, demands

the all-around skills that make Jennings so valuable to the Sailors.

“She’s a tremendous beach player,” said Glenn, who praised

Jennings’ ball control, serving, leadership and shot-making ability

at the net.

“She makes some amazing digs and she gives us a lot of energy with

her jump serving,” Glenn said. “And when she’s hitting, she doesn’t

have to swing away every time. She’s able to move the ball around and

hit the open spots better than most players.”

Energy may best describe Jennings’ on-court presence, which, Glenn

believes, also evolved, this season, to include leadership.

“She leads by example and she’s not real vocal,” Glenn said. “But

she’s vocal when it’s competitive and that’s what I like. She just

refuses to lose.”

Jennings said she takes pride in her collection of skills, which

also includes setting, after a late-season shift from outside hitter

to opposite the setter.

Glenn said he was hesitant to make the move, but he has no

regrets.

“She was playing so well outside, but by switching, she is able to

do even more of the little things to help us. It allows us to do more

with her.”

Jennings came through in a crucial stretch of the fifth game

Saturday, posting back-to-back kills to turn a 9-8 deficit into a

10-9 lead.

“We were losing, 6-2, in that fifth game and I started thinking

‘We can’t loose this game and we won’t,’ ” she said. “I remember

Emily Turner and I looked at each other before one serve and we both

said ‘We are not going to lose this game.’ ”

Jennings said volleyball had never lost its appeal, ever since she

began playing in the sixth grade. She earned her AA rating on the

beach last summer and said she plans to play in a pro women’s tour

qualifying tournament next summer.

“It’s just the greatest thing in the world,” she said of the game

played competitively by both her father and mother.

When pressed for a specific reason the game is so great, Jennings

paused and, as she does on the court, shifted her energy toward the

team.

“The best part is coming this far,” she said of the Sailors’

extended postseason run.