DAVIS VOLLEYBALL FESTIVAL; CONTINUING TO KEEP A SHARP FOCUS AREA GIRLS BOOST TEAM'S HOPES.

Byline: Chris Cocoles Staff Writer

SACRAMENTO - Last year, the Sports Shack girls' volleyball club players were sequestered in the hotel rooms during Volleyball Festival week.

No, they didn't violate curfew or break team rules. And they weren't being punished by coach Torie Sumner.

``We weren't allowed to talk to any other teams. We had to stay in our rooms and focus on our game,'' said Sports Shack veteran Jennifer Ryan, who attends La Reina High.

The strategy worked: Sports Shack won the 16-year-old festival championship and returns most of that team as they seek the 18s title this year.

This year, the quarantine has been lifted, and Sports Shack players can join the other 10,000 or so that are infecting the streets of Sacramento and Davis with volleyball fever.

Still, Sumner wants her team to maintain a low profile.

``I want my kids to get back to the hotel and rest their feet,'' Sumner said Wednesday night after Sports Shack, seeded sixth in its division, won three matches to reach the Round of 16 that began on Thursday.

While many of the festival's participants are spending their idle time lounging around the hotel pool, the Sports Shack players have avoided the lure of cool water in the 100-degree heat that has baked the area this week.

``(On Wednesday morning) our coach wanted us to get our blood going and our legs moving. So we walked around the mall,'' Ryan said.

The team eats its meals together, two with Sumner and the team mom in the hotel, and one with just the players.

``We don't go out to the pool, we usually stay in our rooms, rest and watch TV,'' Ryan said.

Sports Shack met three quality opponents in the first round of championship play on Wednesday. The Beverly Hills-based club defeated Spokane (Wash.) Splash, Orange County 18 and 12th-seeded Portland Adidas Black.

Beating Portland 25-12, 25-22 allowed Sports Shack to keep its high seed for the next round.

Sports Shack was dominant in the first game, led by Alison Gorny (Littlerock), Courtney Schultz (Harvard-Westlake) and Ashlie Hain (La Reina). With pool play over, the opposition will be tougher the rest of the week.

``All year we've been . . . playing some of the top teams in California and in pool play it's against lower divisions and we should (win),'' Ryan said.

``But as the days go on and the teams get harder, it's better for us because we're used to the competition. I think we play better against better teams.''

The close and tight quarters of last year not only produced a festival championship, but created a close-knit group that had no choice but to coexist while imprisoned.

``This year we're even closer,'' Ryan said.

--Cheering section: Now that the moratorium on socializing has been lifted, Ryan and her teammates are having a blast this week cheering on the other Sports Shack teams at the festival.

Sports Shack Tim's final match on Wednesday was the most popular of the 20 courts in the convention center's Exhibit Rooms A and B.

Of the fans that lined up around the court, most were other Sports Shack players. That included one of the 12-year-old teams that chanted and cheered throughout the match.

``I love it. The opening ceremony was fun for (the younger players) because they've never been there so we all had a partner that walked in together,'' Ryan said.

``If we went in the mornings we watched (another Sports Shack) team play and they came and watch us play. It's good to have the support . . . This is our club and we're proud of our club.''

--Moving up: Sports Shack was not the only local team to advance into the elite level in the 18s division.

Thunder Mizuno of Reseda, which entered the week seeded 22nd, played its way into the top 16 on Wednesday.

Seeded 12th in the Round of 16, Thunder Mizuno is being led by Melody Eckmier (Simi Valley), Staci Venski (Mojave), Nicole Stuka (Hart) and Lauren Beasley (Valencia).

--Final exams: The Festival's championship matches in the 14s, 16s and 18s divisions are tonight at the UC Davis Rec Hall.

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Photo: (color in Simi and Conejo edition only) Jennifer Ryan of La Reina High is one of the standouts on the Tim's Sports Shack volleyball team now competing in Northern California.

Eric Grigorian/Special to the Daily News