High School Girls’ Volleyball Preview: Ocean View hot as playoff push begins
All of the league races have begun in high school girls’ volleyball, and it seems fitting to begin with the one that has been played out furthest to this point.
That would be the Golden West League, where Ocean View has ascended to the top of the league standings. The Seahawks (15-3, 5-0 in league) completed the first half of league play with a four-set victory at Westminster on Thursday.
“You don’t want them to get too confident to where they think they just have it,” Seahawks coach Joshua Nehls said. “That’s what my main focus has been every time we win a game is just trying to stay humble, saying, ‘We have a ton of work to do. It doesn’t matter who we beat. We still have to try to beat who we were yesterday. Don’t settle just because you beat teams.’
“My worry is that they’re going to say, ‘Oh, we beat everybody once. We should be able to beat them again,’ and then relax too much and then lose a game because of that. I want to make sure they stay full-throttle.”
Ocean View has rattled off nine wins in a row, and the team has been a mainstay in the CIF Southern Section Division 7 rankings. The Seahawks sit at No. 5 in the poll.
They were second for a week and then first for a week. Somehow, without losing a game, we were back down to eighth.
— Joshua Nehls, Ocean View High coach
A handful of senior returners, including middle blocker Helen Reynolds, libero Kelli Greiner and outside hitter Jillian Pratt, bring back the experience of a trip to the Division 8 quarterfinals last year.
In his first season as Ocean View’s coach last year, Nehls led a team on the rise to a share of the league crown. He is focused on finishing on the big stage now. That means winning the league title outright and bettering the 2017 quarterfinals appearance that ended at Malibu.
“They were second for a week and then first for a week,” Nehls said in reference to his team’s standing in the Division 7 rankings. “Somehow, without losing a game, we were back down to eighth.
“You could see it, ‘Oh, we’re No. 1. We’re No. 1.’ It’s like, ‘No, you’re just ranked No. 1. Don’t feel like you’re No. 1 just yet.’ ”
The local team to have the most postseason success last year was Sage Hill. The Lightning reached the CIF Southern Section Division 3 semifinals and the CIF State Southern California Regional Division II semifinals.
Sage Hill did not go down without a fight, extending Pasadena La Salle to five sets in the section playoffs. In the regional tournament, the Lightning took a set from eventual state champion Chatsworth Sierra Canyon.
Senior outside hitters Sydnee Francis and Amiyah De’Long lead Sage Hill’s efforts this year. Each has the defensive skills to extend points and make the Lightning a postseason threat again.
Sage Hill is 7-9 overall, but it has started out 4-0 in the San Joaquin League. Sage Hill is looking for its third consecutive league title.
Corona del Mar ruled the Pacific Coast League, winning the last five league titles with Steve Astor at the helm. The Sea Kings advanced to the Division 1 semifinals, earning a berth in the SoCal Regional Open Division tournament.
The Sea Kings lost a lot from last year’s team, but they still possess one of the area’s most dangerous players in 6-foot-4 outside hitter Kendall Kipp. CdM will rely on the senior heavily to compete in the new Surf League, which also features Huntington Beach, Edison and Los Alamitos.
CdM and Laguna Beach joined the Sunset Conference this year, bringing about the creation of the Surf League and Wave League. The four teams perceived to be in the top half of the Sunset Conference in each sport have been placed in the Surf League.
At around the .500 mark last week, Astor said that his team had some “must-win” matches coming up. The Sea Kings came through, improving to 17-11 overall after winning the Tartar Classic at Torrance High on Sept. 15.
Huntington Beach (8-5, 0-1) won the last four Sunset League titles, three of them outright. The Oilers are a youthful group, with only one senior in the rotation. Junior setter Jaclyn Sanchez’s best weapons are in the middle in sophomore Olivia Carlton and junior Xolani Hodel.
Los Alamitos (13-8, 1-0) drew first blood in beating the visiting Oilers 25-23, 25-18, 31-29 in the Surf League opener on Wednesday. The Griffins were led by 18 kills from sophomore outside hitter Starr Williams, a transfer from Ontario Colony who is committed to Long Beach State.
“We’re not a huge, physical team, so if teams are in system against us, it’s going to be a little bit tougher for us to stop,” Oilers coach Craig Pazanti said following the loss at Los Alamitos. “We need to do a better job at the service line to try to take them off the middle a little bit more.”
Two years removed from winning a Division I state championship, Edison, which entered Friday at 14-10 overall, is looking to extend its streak to five straight playoff appearances.
Laguna Beach, which went into Friday 5-7 overall, should be considered the Wave League favorite. The Breakers, who never experienced defeat in 12 years in the Orange Coast League, began league with a 25-16, 25-21, 25-14 sweep of Fountain Valley (6-8, 0-1) on Thursday.
In the other Wave League opener, Newport Harbor (6-18, 1-0) topped Marina (3-12, 0-1) on Thursday 24-26, 25-9, 25-11, 25-19.
Costa Mesa, which was 10-9 overall and 2-1 in the Orange Coast League, is led by versatile junior Malia Tufuga. The Mustangs are in the hunt to make a third straight playoff appearance.
The Mustangs will travel to crosstown rival Estancia, which headed into Friday at 8-16 and 1-2 in the league, to complete the first half of league play on Tuesday.
Pacifica Christian Orange County (8-6, 2-2) made the Division 10 quarterfinals last season. As things stand, many believe that the Tritons can make another deep run. Pacifica Christian is ranked No. 3 in Division 9.
Twitter: @ProfessorTurner
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.
