It’s hard to imagine a season better than the 39-1 record and the state championship the La Jolla Country Day (LJCD) girls’ volleyball team earned in 2009. But with the bulk of last season’s team returning to defend its title, the notion of a perfect season from the Torreys in 2010 is certainly not absurd. “I feel like our focus is taking the state championship from last year, putting it in the trophy room and moving on,” said senior setter Chloe Mathis. “We’re going to try for 40-0 this year.” Don’t tell that to head coach Peter Ogle, though. He scoffs at the idea of dynasty-building at LJCD. Entering his 33rd year of coaching, Ogle knows as well as anybody his job is to get his players fully prepared for every match, every game and every play. Looking beyond the immediate future can be a dangerous idea for any team. “The outside people probably have a lot of expectations because of all the returning players,” he said. “For me, the expectation is to get better every day. I don’t know how good we’ll be. A lot of things have to fall into place (to win state).” What makes the Torreys such a scary squad is the star power it brings to the table. A trio of seniors who are all expected to play at Division I colleges next year leads them. Their talent is no secret, but they also know what it takes to win. If they forget, even for a second, Ogle is there to snap them back to his world where anything other than excellence is unacceptable. LJCD’s strength is its powerhouse offense that can get opponents’ heads spinning in a hurry. It runs a fast-paced attack with extremely adept outside hitters who often have players on the other side of the net ducking for cover. One of those hitters is Lauren Birks. She led the team in kills last season with 204. “We run a very quick offense and that gives me a lot of opportunities to get up and put the ball away,” Birks said. Many teams have a big hitter to look out for, but the quandary in playing the Torreys is that they have two. Mollie Rogers also possesses the innate ability to jump high, time it perfectly and deliver a thunderous blast just like her partner. With so much offensive talent to deal with, opposing teams can’t key on one player. “It’s nice having two strong, dominant hitters opposite each other,” said Rogers, who will be playing at Yale next year. “We’re always confident we have control of the back row and the front row at the same time.” There is no doubt LJCD boasts some of the strongest hitters in the state, but without a good setter they would never get the chance to hammer down those perfect passes. That’s where Mathis comes in, the quarterback on the court involved in nearly every play. Her creativity keeps opponents guessing all the time and her talents have earned a full scholarship to the University of Arizona next year. The Torreys have two more seniors in the starting lineup: Gillian Howard and Maggie Whitney. However, from most accounts the team isn’t as deep as last year. On the flipside, the lack of proven backups may add motivation for others to step up. In the process, they could become champions in their own right. LJCD kicks off its state title defense at Poway on Thursday, Sept. 9 at 4:45 p.m.