Three area girls volleyball teams have their sights set on a long run into the CIF playoffs this fall.
The Bishop’s School went 30-4 a season ago for head coach Tod Mattox, finishing third in the CIFs.
This season’s squad is led by seniors Brittany Allen, Laurel Casey, Alex Pell and Jacqueline Rhodes.
“The strength of our seniors and our team as a whole is ball control,” Mattox commented. “We are smaller than last year, and we will have to be better controlling the ball because we will not be more physical than too many teams.”
In addition to the seniors, Julie Gantz (junior) and Ina Kamenova (sophomore) return to provide stability in the setting position. Juniors Kendall Lord and Carly Bollert have been two of the team’s best outside attackers so far.
“The key to our season will be the development of our young players, especially the middles,” Mattox said.
Kristen Casey (freshman), Thea Derrough (sophomore) and Stephanie Yetter (sophomore) will all share time in the middle. Carly Guiducci (junior) and Savannah Smith (sophomore) round out the roster.
“We have very high expectations for the season,” Mattox said. “We believe we have championship caliber talent. This is our most balanced team ever, and the competitive practice atmosphere will help us as the year progresses.”
At La Jolla Country Day School, head coach Peter Ogle and the Lady Torreys look to the new season with much excitement.
“A combination of returning veterans and experienced newcomers will allow the team to start strong, but have a great deal of potential for improvement,” Ogle said. “This is the beginning of a very strong run for La Jolla Country Day.”
LJCD will look to seniors Kenna Foltz, Jessica Hershfield and Andie Sabourin. Juniors Grace Murk and Jordan Krant will also be keys.
Ogle expects three returning sophomores to make an impact. They are Cheyenne Giesecke, Mary Mack and Jessie Altman.
“Our talented freshman class includes Chloe Mathis, Maggie Whitney, Lauren Birks, Mollie Rogers and Gillian Howard,” Ogle added.
At La Jolla High, the Lady Vikings and head coach Dave Jones went 201-3 last fall, finishing 9-3 in Western League action. La Jolla fell in the Division III CIF semis.
This season the Lady Vikings return four starters in juniors Amanda Gordon, Caitlin Parmer and Karly Deer, along with sophomore Haley Cameron. Jones also looks to contributions from senior Allyn Meyer.
“Obviously we were not satisfied with our finish last season, so our goals include both the Western League and CIF titles this year,” Jones remarked. “However, to reach either of those goals, we’ll have to go through Cathedral Catholic, which will once again be one of the top teams in Southern California, let alone San Diego.”