City bragging rights at stake

There is one aspect of local girls’ volleyball that is unique among

area teams.

Unlike almost all the other sports, the four area schools --

Burbank, Burroughs, Providence and BellarmineJefferson -- usually

play one another during the course of a season.

This year, only Providence doesn’t have regular-season matches

scheduled against all the other three squads, as the Pioneers will

take on the Bulldogs in a scrimmage.

With all the head-to-head matchups, teams take pride in vying for

the mythical city championship.

“That is one of our goals for this season, to be the city

champion,” said Guards’ Coach Miguel Segura, whose squad will play

nonleague matches against Burroughs Thursday, Burbank Sept. 13 and

Providence Oct. 13.

While the Guards and Pioneers have a fine group of returning

players, the Indians and Bulldogs will have to rely on new and

untested athletes.

Here is how the season is shaping up.

PROVIDENCE

After leading the Pioneer boys’ team to the CIF quarterfinals last

season, Coach James Jimenez takes over the girls’ program.

The coach inherits a team that went 13-6 in 2004 and placed third

in the Liberty League with a 9-3 record.

“We have a lot of talent on this team, and we have a lot of

players who can play a variety of positions,” said Jimenez, who is a

former Pioneer boys’ player.

The anchor of the team will be senior setter Vanessa Amran, who is

also an all-league girls’ basketball player. She is also the

volleyball team captain.

Also returning is junior outside hitter Heather Hansen, who

Jimenez calls the most athletic player on the team, as well as

sophomore outside hitters -- as well as sisters -- Fio and Galia

Sotomayor and senior outside hitter Lauren Suedkamp.

A newcomer who has impressed the coach is junior Nathalie

Hernandez, who moves up from the junior varsity team.

Despite a third-place finish a year ago, Jimenez expects his

Pioneers to vie for a league championship.

“With Windward out of the league this year, I think it will be us

and Viewpoint going for the title,” he said.

BELLARMINE-JEFFERSON

Segura is excited about the season for his Guards. Not only does

his team have its share of talented returning players, but Bell-Jeff

also has some height and some power.

“We only lost three of our players from last year,” Segura said.

“So, we have five of our varsity players returning from last season.

“One of the great things about us is that we have four players

hovering around 6 feet. So, I expect us to be tough at the net and

hopefully not many teams are going to be able to outblock us.”

The Guards will rely on those players to improve on their 2-15

record and 1-12 (last place) showing in the tough Sunshine League in

2004.

“We will be a lot batter than that this year,” Segura said. “I’m

looking for us to improve a lot.

“We are excited about this season and we are ready to get it

started.”

Segura said the heart and soul of the team will be senior setter

Gina Van Dyke. Along with setting up her teammates, Segura said he

will also give the senior a chance to hit the ball as well.

“Gina is my team leader and the one who gets the rest of the team

going,” Segura said. “She has really stepped up and asked if she

could do a little hitting for us, and we are going to let her do

that.”

Leading a group of sophomores is outside hitter/middle blocker

Jessica Alvarez and middle blocker Ashleigh Dillard.

Coming up from the junior varsity team to lend a hand is sophomore

defensive specialist Laura Garcia.

Senior defensive specialist Yvette Madrid should give the Guards

some stability in the lineup.

The coach said he expects a tough road in league this season, as

he picks Notre Dame Academy and Marymount as the teams to beat.

“We will be trying to get one of the last playoffs spots with

probably La Salle and Marlborough,” he said. “But we really want to

get to the playoffs.”

BURROUGHS

The make up of the Indians’ squad is a little different now than

it was at the beginning of the summer. A few athletes have decided

not to come out for the team, leaving Burroughs with a young squad.

“We lost a couple of players, so we look a little different now,”

said Burroughs Coach Edwin Real, whose team was 8-9 and 2-8 in the

Foothill League in 2004.

“We are going to have a lot of players who are new to varsity, and

that includes five sophomores. So, we will be young.”

One of the players Real will rely on to lead the team is senior

middle blocker Bailey Porter. A second-team all-league selection last

season, Porter is also an all-league standout for the Indians’ girls’

water polo team.

A group of sophomores Real is expecting big things from includes

middle blocker Karissa Lagmay, outside hitter Tatiana Sao, setter

Jaime Loporchio and opposite-side hitter Kayla Gurley.

In seasons past, the Indians have played well in nonleague only to

struggle during league competition.

“Right now, we are just trying to build up our confidence and we

are learning to play as a team,” Real said. “We still have a lot of

work to do.”

And as far as league is concerned?

“Valencia won it last year and they should be the favorite,” Real

said.

“We just want to play well enough to get the third spot in league

and make it to the playoffs. But we know league is going to be very

tough, like usual.”

BURBANK

Like many coaches in the city, the Bulldogs’ Wayne Teng finds

himself in a tough position when it comes to finding quality

volleyball players.

“We don’t have any club programs in the city, so most of the

girls’ don’t play outside of high school,” he said. “It’s very hard

to find players who have any kind of experience.

“It would be nice to have a club program where the players could

get experience.”

Teng admits his team will be short on experience this season, as

it tries to improve on a 4-12 (0-10) record from a year ago.

“We will have a lot of juniors, and we will just be trying to

improve so we can be ready for the Foothill League.

Like Real at Burroughs, Teng said Valencia should be the most

talented team in league.

Teng said he will be looking to senior opposite-side hitter Lauren

Rousey to pace the team. Rousey is also an accomplished girls’

basketball player.

“Lauren is our best player,” Teng said. “She has been injured in

the past, but we will rely on her a lot.”

Other than Rousey, Teng said he would rather not mention any other

athletes.