DIVISION III STATE FINAL: HARVARD-WESTLAKE REPEATS FEAT SENIORS CAP CAREERS BY LEADING WOLVERINES TO SECOND STATE TITLE H.-W. 3, EL MOLINO 0.

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

CYPRESS - The goal was not merely to win, but to establish a legacy that might never be matched.

Karalyn Kuchenbecker and Courtney Schultz, who started out as lowly freshmen at Harvard-Westlake High of Studio City three years ago, capped their remarkable careers Saturday with a second consecutive state championship, as the Wolverines beat El Molino of Forestville 15-12, 15-11, 15-12 in the Division III final at Cypress College.

Kuchenbecker and Schultz finished with three Southern Section championships and the two state titles, and admitted after Saturday's match they wouldn't have felt complete without a second state title banner hanging on the east wall of the Harvard-Westlake gym.

Harvard-Westlake, the only area team ever to win a state girls' volleyball championship, became the 15th team in history to defend its state title.

``Last season we were juniors, and we knew we had another year, but we didn't want that to be the high point of our careers,'' said Schultz, a middle blocker who was named tournament MVP and has accepted a scholarship to Stanford. ``We wanted to top things off, the way last year's seniors did.''

The Wolverines (21-2) also won a state title in 1995, which led to some predictable speculation as to whether last season's team was better. But since the core of last season's team, including starting middle blocker Terbrie Taylor, remained intact this season, there can be little question remaining.

``This does rank right up there, but I don't want to pick the best,'' coach Jess Quiroz said. ``What's gratifying to me is that some people really stepped it up from last year and made strides in their game. Whether it was in practice or a league game, we saw more of that this year than last year.''

All season long, the Wolverines showed stability and calm in the face of adversity. When Schultz missed time with a sore back, and when Kuchenbecker and setter Alex Dunphy collided in practice and injured their wrists, the Wolverines rarely stumbled.

And Saturday, when faced with one of their only real challenges of the entire playoffs, the Wolverines responded, motivated in part by the fact they had not dropped a game in eight postseason matches this season.

The Wolverines didn't dominate the Lions (29-5), but their ability to come out ahead in three close games, not to mention their sparkling defense and timely hitting at the net, was no less impressive. El Molino featured a 6-foot-3 outside hitter in Amanda Fox but not enough hitting depth to match the Wolverines.

``I think we played their uniforms as much as we played the girls,'' said El Molino coach Edward Grassl, referring to Harvard-Westlake's winning tradition. ``We didn't get much variety from our hitters, and that hurt us. The times we lost this year were when we set Amanda too much, and that's what we did today.''

Harvard-Westlake dropped five of the first six points of third game, the only time the Wolverines felt any pangs of nervousness, according to Kuchenbecker.

El Molino extended its lead to 7-3, but the Wolverines tightened up their defense and took advantage of several hitting errors by the Lions as they scored the next eight points. El Molino hung tough and got to within 13-12, but Schultz gave the Wolverines a point with a kill, won a side-out with a tip then raced back to the line to serve match point.

``I was thinking, `Just get it in,' '' Schultz said. ``I didn't care where it went, as long as it was in.''

After a brief rally, Fox hit into the net, sending the Wolverines into a heartfelt but somewhat subdued on-court celebration. After all, the Wolverines would accept nothing less from themselves than a state championship.

``When it was 12-11 in the third game, I was thinking, `OK, just three more points,' '' Schultz said. ``But then I realized that those would be the last three points I had left of high school volleyball. I'm sure I'll shed a few tears at home, but there can't be a better ending than this.''

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Harvard-Westlake's Karalyn Kuchenbecker (13) puts a kill past Desma Stovall of El Molino on Saturday.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News