Net worth

Mike Sciacca

Caroline Brandon has been around the Ocean View High girls’

volleyball program for the past 14 years, enough so to know that the

program has had a proud standing on campus.

She is in her third year as varsity head coach and previously

spent six years at the junior varsity and frosh/soph levels.

“My job, as coach, is to make these girls feel challenged, keep

working toward the goals they have set,” she said.

Since the program began fielding varsity teams 26 years ago, it

has been at or near the top of league standings each year.

Like their predecessors, this year’s Seahawks team is carrying on

that tradition.

Just past the halfway point of the current Golden West League

race, Ocean View, which last won a share of the league title in 2001

and finished second in a close race last year, leads the seven-team

West pack with a 7-0 record.

With five league contests remaining, which included Wednesday’s

home match against a tough Costa Mesa team, the Seahawks are buckling

down toward a title.

“We still have some very important matches to play but if the

girls stay focused and continue to work hard in practice and continue

that same intensity during our matches, then this team has great

potential,” said Brandon, herself a former Seahawk player and 1994

Ocean View graduate.

Ocean View lost most of last year’s starters to graduation but

with a nucleus of five players returning, has found a way to become

the team to beat for the league title.

That nucleus consists of senior Kelsey Brown, a returning

first-team all-league pick who is a four-year varsity player, current

team co-captain and joins sophomore Hayley Hanson as one of two

starting setters; senior outside hitter and co-captain Stephanie

Schwartz; senior outside hitter Courtney McLaughlan, and junior

middle blocker Jeniece Womack.

“I knew coming into this year that this team would be very good,”

Brandon said. “Last year’s team had plenty of talent but there were

several different personalities and that made it difficult for them

to connect as a team.

“This year’s team is a lot more emotional and intense. They really

care for one another and the girls bring that friendship with them

onto the court, and that has made all the difference. Contributions

come from everywhere on this team, whether a girl starts or subs off

the bench. They really support each other.”

Possessing the “X factor” that its predecessor did not, the

season’s prognosis looked promising for Ocean View when it finished

second at the Santa Fe Tournament in September. The squad quickly

picked up steam -- and added confidence -- when it defeated fellow

title favorites, Costa Mesa and Santa Ana, during the first-round of

league play.

“We’re clicking well together and it shows on the court,” said

outside hitter Schwartz, a three-year varsity player. “We’re friends

off the court, too, and closer than last year’s team was.

“Our goal is to win league and succeed in CIF. We’re determined to

hang another league championship banner in our gym. This is my last

year here at the school, and that’s what I’m aiming for.”

Despite the continued cycle of players lost each year to

graduation, interest in Ocean View girls’ volleyball continues to be

on the rise.

Brandon said 55 hopefuls came out for volleyball this year.

“It’s the biggest turnout, but also, the toughest cut I’ve had to

make,” she said. “It was incredible that so many girls came out and

that says a lot about the interest in this program. A lot of these

girls want to help carry on the school’s great tradition in girls’

volleyball.”

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

(714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at michael.sciacca@latimes.com.