Trevor Holmes

Rick Devereux

The setter on a volleyball team is similar to a quarterback on a

football team because that is the player that airs out the ball so

teammates can get points. But a setter is also like a lineman,

neither getting much recognition for the ability of others to shine.

“If a hitter hits a ball out of bounds or gets blocked, he can

blame the setter,” Estancia High boys volleyball coach Tracey

Ingraham said. “They can say the set was too far in, too far out, too

high, whatever. And if they crush the ball, no one notices the set.”

Estancia, CIF Southern Section Division III champions this year,

have a hitters that crush harder than an auto yard, which makes it

all the more remarkable that Trevor Holmes is so highly recognizable.

The 6-foot-1 junior had the opportunity to set Co-Golden West League

Players of the Year, seniors Josh Kornegay and Kris Hartwell.

Holmes, an all-league selection and varsity starter since his

freshman year, took to being a setter when he was first introduced to

the sport in junior high school, playing with the Balboa Bay Club in

the seventh grade.

Holmes’ older sister, Jennifer, was a setter at Irvine High and

for her club team and was one of the first to notice Trevor’s natural

gifts as a setter.

“We would set to each other in front yard, she even said I had

better hands that she did and that I should go into setting,” he

recalled.

Those hands are what Ingraham says makes Holmes a cut above other

setters.

“He came in with such good hands, that’s a natural thing,” she

said.

Ingraham, a former all-league setter for the Eagles in the 1990s,

is pleased that, even though five of her six starters are graduating,

Holmes will be back to led the offense.

“I think if I’m going to return anyone, I’ll take my setter, no

doubt about it,” she said. “I’m going to miss all these other guys,

but with Trevor running the show, you know he’s solid all the way

around.”

Holmes, the Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week, averaged 27 assists

per match in the playoffs while leading the Eagles to a 15-1 record

en route to the school’s first CIF championship.

But Holmes is already focusing on adding to the banners hanging on

the Estancia gym wall.

“Even though we’re going to be losing five seniors, I think we’ve

really got a good chance next year, too, because we all of these

up-and-coming sophomores,” he said.

Ingraham recognized Holmes’ talents early-on, including his

relentless desire to succeed.

“He has the best work ethic I’ve seen,” she said. “He’s never in a

bad mood. When he walks into the gym, he says to himself, ‘I want to

get better today. I want to work hard today.’ Unless it’s perfect,

he’s not satisfied. I like the way he takes responsibility. He’s

never thinking, ‘Oh, that’s good enough.’ ”