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By Loren Kopff • @LorenKopff on X
LA PALMA-This time last season, the Valley Christian High girls volleyball team was sitting at 9-7. But a blast from the past has now taken over the head coaching duties and has the Defenders off to one of the program’s best starts since when she was playing in the late 1990s.
V.C. swept Northwood High 25-12, 25-19 in the finals of the Kennedy Tournament last Saturday afternoon to not only claim the tournament championship, but win its eighth straight match, all by sweeps. V.C.’s 14-2 start is the best the program has seen since the 2014 team won its first 10 matches and raced to a 15-1 start before ending the season with a 20-4 mark.
“I knew what players we had returning, and so I was hoping for it,” said V.C. first-year head coach Stacy Brannon of the fast start. “They’ve risen; a lot of them have gotten better over their club seasons and have matured. I had hoped for this, so I’m happy with the results.”
Brannon, who was Stacy Rouwenhorst when she played in the late 1990s, guided V.C. to a USA Today National Championship in 1998 when that team went 33-0. She said she didn’t think she wanted to coach high school volleyball after playing beach volleyball on the AVP tour with her partner and former V.C. teammate Jennifer Fopma. Following her career on the beach, she wanted to focus on being a mom to her kids and teaching at V.C.
After sweeping Garden Grove High 25-11, 25-10 in the first pool play match of the day, the Defenders were in a tight first set with Valencia High, rallying from an early 3-1 hole to own an 11-8 lead through the first rotation. But the Defenders scored three straight points three times in the second rotation to lead 22-15 after sophomore outside hitter Tessa Dobmeier had a kill and two straight aces.
V.C. would take the set 25-17, then raced to leads of 3-0 and 12-5 before winning the second set 25-15. Senior middle blocker Jordan Weston led the Defenders with 10 kills while Dobmeier added nine kills. Senior outside hitter Cameron Warner and junior middle hitter Aubrey Ericks added five and four kills, respectively.
In the playoffs, V.C. trailed host Kennedy High 10-9 after the first rotation as five players combined for seven kills early on. The Fighting Irish had an 18-14 lead before a serve into the net gave Ericks the serve and from there, she reeled off five straight points with three aces and a pair of kills from Weston. The Defenders would close out the set with five straight points.
In the second set there were six ties early as Kennedy trailed by two points five times only to tie the set, but never taking the lead during the early moments. Then sophomore outside hitter Jenna Van Kampen’s third kill at the time gave the Defenders the lead, sparking a four-point spree.
Following Dobmeier’s ninth kill, Kennedy scored five straight points to take a 22-21 lead. But a kill from Van Kampen was followed by a block from Weston, a net violation and a combined block from Van Kampen and Weston for the victory. Dobmeier and Weston each had nine kills against Kennedy while Warner and Van Kampen added five and four kills, respectively.
One of the strengths for the Defenders this season has been their depth. Besides Dobmeier, Warner and Weston proving the bulk of the offense, there’s Ericks, Van Kampen, junior defensive specialist Kaylie Prins, junior libero Devyn Masi, sophomore setter Lucy Taylor and sophomores Whitney McGuyre and Brooklyn Warner pitching in.
“I feel like this team is a lot more balanced,” said Brannon. “Cam doesn’t come across as maybe hitting as hard as Tessa, but she’s very smart in where she puts the ball, and Aubrey the same. Then our opposites have been stepping up, too, as the season has been going on.”
V.C. began the season with a four-set loss to St. Joseph High on Aug. 13 and after winning the next six matches, the Defenders fell to Yorba Linda High in a playoff match of the Tustin Tournament on Aug. 24. The only other match that wasn’t a sweep came on Aug. 20 at Bishop Amat High.
“I don’t like to lose; I like to win in three,” said Brannon. “Winning in four feels like a little defeat. Our girls have been playing really hard. We’ve kept our mental focus, I think, and not let down even when we’ve had easier games that could have gone four had we floundered. But the girls have been doing a great job keeping their focus.”
The Defenders visited Whittier Christian High on Sept. 12 in the Olympic League opener and will travel to Ontario Christian High on Monday before hosting league nemesis Village Christian High on Tuesday. The Defenders have lost 12 straight matches and 18 of the last 20 to the Crusaders.
“We have a road ahead of us,” said Brannon. “We have three practices to get ready for that stretch.”
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