Q&A ... WITH VALENCIA SENIOR JAMEY KER.

Byline: -- Tim Haddock

Every once in awhile, Valencia High boys' volleyball coach Mark Knudsen will ask some of his players to come to the beach for a game. Knudsen has asked Jamey Ker, his senior outside hitter, more than a few times to play.

Ker didn't go the last time though. It was the day after prom night and Ker said there was no way he would have the energy for a day of beach volleyball. Valencia, ranked No. 3 nationally by Student Sports Volleyball and Rivals.com,, is loaded with players. Ker is one of them, the youngest of three brothers who have played at Valencia. In the time the Ker brothers played at Valencia, they have never lost a Foothill League championship. The team wrapped up its seventh straight league title last week and awaits Irvine in the Southern Section Div. II playoffs. Ker's brothers, Tony and Kevin, continued their volleyball careers at UCLA. Jamey is headed to UCLA in the fall. He talked about following his brothers to UCLA, why he prefers playing indoor volleyball to beach volleyball, his love of doughnuts and death metal music, and who he thinks is funnier: Jim Carrey or Will Ferrell.

DAILY NEWS: How much did your brothers pressure you to go to UCLA?

JAMEY KER: No pressure from my brothers at all. It was always my decision to where I wanted to go. There was always like an unspoken pressure, like that would be really cool if I went to the same school as my brothers. It was never anything like, 'Hey Jamey, you should go here because we go here.' Having them be at the school gave me a little insight to what the school is like already. I was already interested in it for awhile.

DN: Did your brothers play on a national championship volleyball team at UCLA?

JK: Tony won his national championship two years ago, his sophomore year.

DN: Did Kevin?

JK: No. Kevin has not yet. Kevin wasn't playing at the time.

DN: You would have to win two to beat your brothers.

JK: Exactly.

DN: Can you do that?

JK: I hope so. We have a pretty good team. A lot of our recruits coming in this year are pretty good. We're only losing one senior this year and that's Tony, so I think next year we have a pretty good shot. We pretty much have everybody returning and some new guys coming in that are really good. It's going to be exciting.

DN: Do you prefer playing beach volleyball or court volleyball?

JK: Court volleyball for sure. Beach volleyball you play with two guys. I like playing with six guys a lot more. It's more fun, it's more energized, it's more teamwork. I like that aspect of volleyball. It's a little bit easier, you can jump higher and you can swing harder. Beach volleyball definitely does show off your skills a lot, because you have to be an all-around good player to play beach.

DN: When was the last time you played beach volleyball with your coach and what happened?

JK: I think it was during spring break, we just wanted to go down to the beach and hang out. We told him that on Friday for practice. He was like, come on over to Ventura. Me and my buddies are playing and we'll mess around. I brought a couple of my teammates and a couple of my other random friends and then we just fooled around and played some beach volleyball. It was really fun.

DN: Your three hobbies are music, eating and hanging out with your friends. What's your favorite food?

JK: I would have to say doughnuts. I love doughnuts. I could eat doughnuts at any time of the day and I could eat a lot of them.

DN: Any particular kind, any particular brand?

JK: I like to go to the local S&S and pick up like a bear claw or anything. I love every kind of doughnut. I could eat every doughnut. I try to get a variety of them.

DN: Do you listen to music before a match?

JK: We bring our iPods to the gym and sit in the stands and wait for the JV game to be over. We have a warm-up CD. Some of the guys on the team have a similar music interest that I do. We make a warm-up CD together. It's usually the death metal or metal stuff that we listen to, hard-core music.

DN: Two of your favorite movies are "Dumb and Dumber" and "Talladega Nights." Who's funnier Jim Carrey or Will Ferrel?

JK: I would have to say Jim Carrey.

DN: What makes him funnier?

JK: Jim Carrey, if I were to see him in person, he'd be just like a happy guy. He has the best facial expressions.

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Photo:

no caption (Jamey Ker)

Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photographer