SO. SECTION VOLLEYBALL: WESTLAKE SHEDS RUST, DEFEATS CRESPI WESTLAKE 3, ENCINO 1.

Byline: Vincent Bonsignore Staff Writer

The big prize while pursuing a league championship is the chance to earn one of the coveted top seeds in the Southern Section playoffs and the first-round bye that comes with it.

But after spending 10 days beating itself up in practice and trying to figure out new ways to occupy its time without losing its edge, the Westlake High boys' volleyball team was ready to play anybody Tuesday in the second round of the Div. I playoffs.

``It didn't take too long for us to start getting sick of playing against each other in practice,'' Westlake outside hitter Sam Cantor admitted. ``We were pretty anxious to finally get out there and play someone else.''

So much so that the host Warriors seemed to be in no real rush to send Crespi back home to Encino. With the long layoff creating a noticeable layer of rust on its usually pristine game, Westlake alternated between brilliant and ordinary in a 25-8, 23-25, 25-14, 25-16 victory Tuesday over the scrappy Celts to move into Friday's quarterfinals against the winner of Simi Valley's match with Mater Dei.

The Warriors (23-1) had not played since May 7, the result of dominating the Marmonte League and earning a bye in Friday's first round. The result was an unusual week of practice in which coach Doug Magorien did everything but drive his players to an open gym somewhere just to get a few games in. It also had a dulling effect on the sharp play Westlake continually flashed throughout the regular season.

``We were a little rusty,'' said setter Travis Foltz, who had 42 assists. ``I mean, in the first game we jumped on them pretty good and beat them pretty easily, but we got a little too excited in the second game and we showed a lot of rust. Fortunately it got better as the match went on, but we were kind of up and down all night.''

Westlake spent the first part of last week working on weak spots such as defense and blocking.

``We wanted to strap down on those areas,'' Foltz said. ``So we hit that pretty hard.''

By the end of the week the focus was on team play, finally concluding with a light workout Monday in preparation for Crespi.

``It's really the challenge of being a coach,'' Magorien said. ``And that's trying to find ways to stay sharp.''

But nothing can replace actually playing a competitive match. In that respect, Westlake owes Crespi a nod of thanks for the help Tuesday. The Celts (14-8) finished second in the Mission League behind perennial power Loyola of Los Angeles, but they came into Tuesday's match practically an unknown to the Warriors.

``It was the perfect game for us to get back into it,'' Foltz said. ``They had some real solid points, so they were a really good team to play.''

Vincent Bonsignore, [phone]

vincent.bonsignore(at)dailynews.com