BAXTER SETS TABLE FOR TITLE : ROYAL 3 THOUSAND OAKS 0.Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Daily News Staff Writer Royal High School volleyball volleyball, outdoor or indoor ball and net game played on a level court. An upright net, 3 ft (or 1 m) high, the top of which stands 8 ft (2.43 m) from the ground for men, 7 ft 4 1/8 in (2. setter setter: see sporting dog. setter Any of three breeds derived from a medieval hunting dog that would set (lie down) when it found birds so that it and the birds could be covered with a net. Setters have long hair on the ears, chest, legs, and tail. John Baxter feels a sense of obligation these days. The senior, a starter since his sophomore year, remembers as a 10th-grader how standouts Dan Rizzo and Eric Carlsen taught him about winning championships and the importance of effort and teamwork (product, software, tool) Teamwork - A SASD tool from Sterling Software, formerly CADRE Technologies, which supports the Shlaer/Mellor Object-Oriented method and the Yourdon-DeMarco, Hatley-Pirbhai, Constantine and Buhr notations. . Now he's providing the same sort of leadership to the younger players on this year's team. ``That's the responsibility of being a senior,'' Baxter said. Royal, behind Baxter, Ryan Denihan and Nick Flanagan Nick Flanagan may refer to:
With the win, the Highlanders (10-0, 9-0) extend their league winning streak Noun 1. winning streak - a streak of wins streak, run - an unbroken series of events; "had a streak of bad luck"; "Nicklaus had a run of birdies" to 46 matches. Royal hasn't lost a league match since losing to Thousand Oaks (8-2, 7-2) in 1994. Baxter led the way with 41 assists. Denihan had 16 kills and Flanagan had 15. ``We've got to look at every match like it's for first place,'' Denihan said. ``Thousand Oaks played well tonight. They're a good team.'' Royal took control of the match with fairly easy wins in the first two games. But in the final game Thousand Oaks came back from a 5-1 deficit to take leads at 6-5 and 10-9. Part of the problem for the Highlanders, ranked No. 2 in Southern Section Division I, was that Baxter was forced to the sidelines Sidelines Hypothetical position referring to noninvolvement in a stock; merely watching. with leg cramps in that game. James Whiting came in and played well, but the team obviously missed Baxter, who came back with the score tied 14-14. ``He got well pretty fast,'' Royal coach Bob Ferguson said. The Highlanders scored the next two points to put the match away. As was the case the past two years, Baxter has played a big part in the success this season. He doesn't have Rizzo and Carlsen playing alongside him anymore. But he's serving up kills at a rapid pace to teammates Denihan, Flanagan and Dave Clark, who had 13 Friday. Denihan and Flanagan have drawn interest from college programs with their size and athletic ability and Baxter enjoys dishing them assists. ``They make my job a lot easier,'' Baxter said. It helps that all three are good friends. ``To me, this year is the best compared to the other two because these are guys I've grown up with,'' Baxter said. ``We've played so much volleyball together over the years and gotten so close. It makes it even better.'' Baxter, who will play next fall at Cal State Northridge, has helped the Highlanders to consecutive trips to the Southern Section Division I quarterfinals, where they've stalled both times. He hopes with continued improvement they'll advance further this year. ``We feel like we have the team to do it,'' Baxter said. |
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