Local teams gearing up for fall season
By Derryl Trujillo —
This past Saturday marked the official opening day for the 2022 CIF-SS girls’ volleyball season, but a majority of teams will start the campaign this week and here are some things to look at over the course of the coming season.
Can Vista Murrieta make it four in a row in the Southwestern League?
Year in and year out the Southwestern League produces arguably some of the area’s best volleyball and behind BYU commit Claire Little, the Lady Broncos have come out on top three years in a row. They have, however, not completed the circuit unscathed as they took a league loss in each of those championship campaigns.
Santa Ana Mater Dei coach Dan O’Dell says Little will be the best player in the Southern Section this season. For the chasers (Chaparral, Murrieta Valley, Temecula Valley and Great Oak) the question is, can one of them separate themselves and stay within shouting distance if/when they get that first loss?
At Murrieta Mesa, Rams coach Patrick Villanueva, also serving as an assistant at Chaffey College, is looking to guide the Rams into the thick of that race in his second year. Players to watch: Zoe Piche and Emerson Macias.
Villanueva remarked, “We have a young team this year and it will be exciting to see their growth both this year and in the years ahead.”
At Chaparral, the Lady Pumas went 6-1 at Queens Court last weekend, winning two pools before falling in a first-round gold division bracket play match. Players to watch: Bella Rittenberg, senior opposite who has committed to Penn; Sara Garcia, junior middle blocker; and Mauri Rayford, junior middle blocker.
Pumas coach Gale Johnson said via text, “We have experienced, explosive hitters. Our setters are learning the system faster than expected and we’ll get better as the year progresses. This team really works well together.”
At Great Oak, the Hannah Schaffer era got off to a great start last weekend as her Lady Wolfpack team took home gold division championship honors at Citrus Valley’s Blackhawk Classic. In pool play they defeated Bonita, Arrowhead Christian and the host Blackhawks. In bracket play, they recorded wins against Hemet and Bonita again. Earning awards were Ava Smith, All-Tournament selection and Michaela Augustine, All-Tournament selection and Most Outstanding Player. By direct message Schaffer remarked, “These girls outdid themselves today and it was absolutely amazing to watch. They were down 22-18 against Bonita in set two and rallied to get it done in a sweep.”
It is the third straight year a Southwestern League team has won the Blackhawk classic following Chaparral’s back-to-back wins in 2019 and 2021. Players to watch are Junior middle blocker Ava Smith, senior setter Michaela Augustine and junior libero Zayda Fuertes.
At Murrieta Valley, Lady Nighthawks coach Ann Romero–Parks remarked, “We’ve got a good mix of young and old on the roster who are very scrappy. Like always, it should be an exciting year in the Southwestern League.”
Players to watch are Mya Jackson, senior right side who is a Boise State commit on the beach; Grace Datil, senior setter; and Miley Thurstrom, sophomore hitter.
Temecula Valley will be looking to better their last season third-place finish in the Southwestern League as head coach Neemias Costa remarked, “We have six strong returners this season (3 sophomores and 3 seniors). If we can get the seniors to lead and the sophomores to support them, we’ll have a strong chance to finish in the top three and earn an automatic bid, bettering what we did last year.”
Players to watch are Aubrey Beaver, senior OH and Cal State Fullerton Commit; Ally Dale, senior OH; and Mackenzie Brack, senior setter.
Can Paloma Valley make it four titles in a row between Sunbelt League/Ivy League play?
Coach’s Thoughts (Stephen Kaas): “We have a pretty tough non-league schedule to prepare us for Ivy League play. Our ball control and defense have been better than they have been in a while. We are a hard-working group that plays well together, and I can’t wait to get the year started.”
Lady Wildcat players to watch: Alexa Rosales-First team All-Ivy League a year ago, Christianna Hawkins-returning middle blocker, Ashley Stoyer-setter.
This league however is full of questions…
At Hemet, how will the Bulldogs respond to a third coach this season in the school’s effort to find a replacement for Lauren Valdez, who resigned in the offseason after two playoff appearances including a CIF-SS quarterfinal in 2019?
At Heritage, how will the Patriots replace the prolific offense of Cal State LA signee Jameson Sanders who recorded 394 kills a season ago and Head Coach Tiffany Johnstone?
At Elsinore, Rene Horton graduated 10 seniors from last year’s squad so the big question for Tigers fans is how quickly will the fresh faces jell together?
Horton says, “With so many new faces on the court I’m looking forward to watching players grow into new roles and seeing our team learn to fight together.”
Elsinore players to watch: Kyleigh Moore (11) OH, Havannah Vogel (11) MB/RS, Daj Williams (12) OH.
How about other local schools?
Can Dana Ortiz take Linfield Christian to a fourth straight postseason appearance after the graduation of Breanna Mitchell, who is now at CSUN, in a much smaller Ambassador League field?
Can Coach Donald Reyes and Temecula Prep continue an impressive two-year run which has seen the Patriots go to a CIF-SS semifinal and quarterfinal after struggling so mightily in the middle of the decade?
Will Rancho Christian continue their winning ways in the Raincross Conference? The Eagles volleyball program, under the direction of first-year head coach Luci Villafana (Calvary Murrieta/Cornerstone Chr/MSJC), will play in the Sunbelt League this season.
So many questions to be answered, but luckily, answers will produce themselves in the next few weeks as preseason play has already begun.
Derryl Trujillo has been a sportswriter in the area since 2018 and is a 2019 winner of the IEBCA Supporter of the Year award. He can be reached by email at socaltrekkie@gmail.com.
