Reitler’s middle efforts right on for Estancia

With little more than a year of experience, Bradley Reitler is quickly becoming a veteran on the Estancia High boys’ volleyball team.

Reitler, a junior middle blocker, hadn’t given the sport much thought until his sophomore year, when Eagles coach Mark Cygan saw him fooling around with a ball after a girls’ match.

Cygan asked him to try out, and Reitler became one of the new faces on the team. Cygan was trying to rebuild after losing the seniors that led to the Eagles’ 2006 success.

That year, Estancia finished second to Costa Mesa in the Golden West League, then went to the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division III playoffs, before losing to Palos Verdes.

This year, the Estancia team is full of returners, but the Eagles are still a little green, Reitler said of the team that’s gone 2-3 so far.

“We show flashes of brilliance, and then the next time we get the ball we do things we’re not supposed to,” Cygan said. “It’s been valuable to us to have that experience on the court and to have some senior leaders on the court. That was the one thing we didn’t have last year. We had a positive attitude and guys working really hard, but we just didn’t have the seniors.”

Most of the players on the Eagles’ volleyball team never played volleyball until high school.

One problem is one that’s common among volleyball teams: getting players to communicate more on the court.

“We sort of communicate now, but we could probably do a lot better,” said senior setter/ right side Barry Fryslie. “It’s not that hard.”

Reitler agreed.

“That’s something that needs improvement, but I think we’re getting there,” he said. “Right now, I think it’s just getting used to playing together and everything.”

Another issue has been ball control, though Cygan said after the season began that it wasn’t nearly the Achilles’ heel he predicted it would be.

What has improved since the Eagles went 3-17 last season is their blocking, in part because of Reitler, who plays on the Surf City volleyball club team. Six Estancia players currently play for Surf City, which practices at Golden West College. Two of the Eagles’ players play for Balboa Bay.

In addition to picking up some speed, Reitler has just gotten better at anticipating balls and getting his hands up.

“I think it’s just been the year I’ve had of experience,” Reitler said. “Coach Cygan’s really been working on closing the blocks, getting the blocks up in time. I got used to it. It’s gotten more natural for me.”

Reitler knew the basics of volleyball when he started, but had to learn the rotation rules and correct form for blocking and swinging. He’s glad Cygan spied him when he did.

“I thank him for that,” Reitler said.

The Eagles lost Wednesday in five to El Modena. They took a two-game lead, but let it slip away as El Modena got hot on a scoring streak and rode the momentum to victory.

“They got one or two kills and just went on a killing spree,” Fryslie said. “The turn of momentum is just stopping the other team. Just one good dig can take a team’s momentum away.”

Fryslie and the Eagles are hoping to rob Orange Coast League favorite Laguna Beach of its momentum Monday, even though Reitler agreed that when the Breakers graduate seniors, they don’t rebuild so much as reload.

The Eagles open league with a home game against the Breakers, last season’s league champions.

“I might have started a little less challenging just to build a little,” Reitler said. “But I think it’s good experience for us to be playing really difficult tough teams like Laguna. We definitely want to do our best to try to beat them. They’re always tough.”

SORAYA NADIA McDONALD may be reached at (714) 966-4613 or at soraya.mcdonald@latimes.com.