Jun 27, 2008

Texas-sized challenge

THREE LOCAL VOLLEYBALL TEAMS HEADED TO DALLAS TO COMPETE AGAINST THE NATION'S BEST IN JUNIOR OLYMPICS

By Vytas Mazeika / Daily News Staff Writer

Finally, an end is in sight.

After tryouts in November, practices starting in December and tournaments as far back as January, the Junior Olympics are here for three girls volleyball club teams representing Paye's Performance in San Carlos.

"We're already into the summer, and they're still playing volleyball," said Robin John Rosales, coach of the 13-year-old team. "For some of them, they expect it. And for the other players, it's a completely brand-new experience."

It's the third year in a row Paye's Performance has qualified a group of local girls for the Junior Olympics, which starts today in Dallas with round-robin play.

"It's a cross section of the Peninsula, basically homegrown players from our backyard," Rosales said.

The first two days of competition are round-robin pool play, before bracket play gets going for the final two days. There might be as many as three to four matches a day, all played in a best-of-three format with the first two games to 25 points and the third to 15 - winner must be ahead by two points at the end.

"We've been conditioning ourselves pretty hard and preparing ourselves for that sort of marathon," said David Huan, coach of the 15s as well as the 12s, both of which will also compete in Dallas.

The 15-year-old team has three players who've been there twice already, and a fourth who was at the Junior Olympics last year.

"I can't say if we feel like we're going to walk in there and beat everybody up, because the competition is pretty equal all around," Huan said. "A lot of times it will come down to one or two points."

The third-year Paye's Performance players are 5-foot-9 Kate Reardon (Menlo-Atherton), 5-foot-10 Regina Mullen (Menlo-Atherton) and 5-foot-9 Amanda Fowler (Carlmont-Belmont).

"Amanda is very passionate about the game," Huan said. "She's very fiery, very competitive."

Joining the trio for a second trip is 5-foot-10 Diane Seeley, who is coached by Huan at M-A.

"I think Diane Seeley is the most impressive player because she has the highest vertical and pounds the ball down," Huan said.

Running the show is 5-foot-4 setter Janelle Tulich (Burlingame), who has been injured at times, forcing other players to step up in her absence.

The resilient squad is a reflection of the coaching staff, which includes Lawrence Dudash and Kelly Burke.

"They see that we're not worried, they don't worry themselves," Huan said. "We know it's going to be tough, but we just don't show that kind of emotion."



New kids on the block

Huan will be in Dallas for eight days, the first four with the 12-year-old team. The older squad doesn't begin play until Monday, allowing him to pull off the double duty he's undertaken all season.

"The 15s were ready to pretty much compete, where with the 12s we pretty much had to start from scratch," Huan said. "We were taking athletic kids and teaching them how to play volleyball."

The meant teaching them to overlap while improving everything from passing to setting to serving. Basically, introducing them to what team volleyball is all about.

"Now we just expect them to do it right and to do it well," Huan said.

There are two key differences to the game the 12-year-old teams play.

"They play with a lighter ball and a lower net," Huan said. "The ball is a lot lighter. It feels like a balloon sometimes."

These two things help offset the lack of height, except in the case of 5-foot-10 Ilaisaane Fakalata, nicknamed Saane.

"Nobody uses her full name," Huan said. "It's way too tough."

Only once all season has the Paye's Performance 12-year-old team faced a comparable middle blocker.

"She's about my height," Huan said. "She's a pretty intimidating force on the team."

Maddie Frappier (Woodside Priory-Portola Valley), at 5-foot-3, is also an intimidating presence at the net with her athleticism and quickness, but the most indespensable player might be Maclaine Westendorf (Sea Crest-Half Moon Bay), the team's only trained setter.

"She can pass, she can hit, she can do it all," Huan said. She's definitely our most important player on the court."



The middle child

In between the 12s and the 15s lies the 13-year-old squad, which also begins play today.

"We do things that are a little bit different, unconventional in a way," said Rosales, who also coaches at Woodside High. "One of the things that I do strategically is setting them a little farther off the net."

There's also back-row attacks to create different angles to hit from, offsetting any height advantages other teams may enjoy. Of utmost importance is the passing and aggresive serving for quick points.

The setters are Danielle Dacanay and Emily Lewis, both from Our Lady of Angels School in Burlingame.

"They're two very key, prominent players on the team," said Rosales, whose assistants are Darlene Tran-Klemens and Lauren Quach, with some additional help from Mia Ortiz.

Like with the 15s, there's four players with Junior Olympics experience on the 13s - starting outside hitter Helen Gannon (Central-San Carlos), middle blocker Katelyn Doherty (Hillview-Menlo Park), defensive specialist Amanda Armanini (IHM) and McKenna Hurley (Borel-San Mateo).

Only three of them traveled to Dallas, though, as Hurley had a previous commitment. For her, the end has come. The others have four days of volleyball left to complete.



E-mail Vytas Mazeika at vmazeika@dailynewsgroup.com.