SPLASHY FORCE VALLEY'S DELGADILLO AMONG STATE'S BEST.

Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer

Byanka Delgadillo's brother, Juan, gets a ride home from practice as his part of the arrangement.

That's nothing compared to what the others get: Byanka gets to learn from a world-class coach and the Valley College women's water polo team gets one of the state's leading scorers.

Byanka Delgadillo has played water polo for nearly 10 years, making her one of the region's most experienced female players. However, she has her brother's workout schedule to thank for her drastic improvement in recent years as well as for finding her a place to play beyond high school.

Things have worked out so well, she is being touted as a candidate for Western State Conference MVP and is looking to extend her career at a Division I school.

``The only reason I ended up here was because of my brother,'' said Delgadillo, who was a four-year starter at Santa Monica High but whose brother attends Harvard-Westlake High in Studio City. ``I have to pick him up from practices, so I was driving on the freeway and I saw Valley College. I said, 'I wonder if they have water polo?' I was going to be out here anyway for him, so I figured it'd be closer and I was happy to get to keep playing water polo.''

The Monarchs are happy to have her, too. Valley was undefeated entering Wednesday's showdown with WSC co-leader Cuesta a season after finishing fourth in the conference. Delgadillo, a sophomore 2-meter player, had a team-high 45 goals and 38 assists to rank among the state's top 10 scorers.

``She's one of the best junior college players around,'' Monarchs assistant coach Pete Loporchio said. ``She's small, but she has the skills. With her experience, she makes up for the lack of size.''

The 5-foot-4 Delgadillo was introduced to the sport at an early age because of an older sister who played. She joined the City of Los Angeles club team and was able to compete with and against players who have gone on to national-power UCLA.

Delgadillo had become known as the speedy defender unafraid of larger players before she landed at Valley.

``I'm surprised at how much I'm scoring,'' she said. ``I was never a person to score, I was always a defender. Before, I was so afraid to shoot. What if I miss? It's given me confidence I could both be a shooter and a defensive player.''

Some of her most valuable lessons have come on the sidelines, though. She pays close attention to instruction given to her brother and his teammates by coach Rich Corso, the former Olympic coach. The value of patience in the front court and how to cope with double teaming are among the lessons she's learned. She also watches videos of his games or videos of the Olympic team Corso gives him.

``There's so much I've learned from watching my brother's practices,'' Delgadillo said.

The Monarchs have seen the payoff with vast improvement in just the past year.

``She's worked even harder this year,'' Valley coach Bill Krauss said. ``She never misses a workout. She's really setting an example for the others, her dedication as well as the way she plays. That'll help her at the next level.

``I do think she can play at the Division I level.''

Not bad for someone who used to be afraid of the water.

``I used to wear nose plugs,'' Delgadillo recalled of her early days in water polo. `` I was so afraid I'd swallow the water. It's funny to think I used to be like that. ... Now, I don't want to stop playing. One of the reasons I wanted to have a good season is so, hopefully, I can transfer and keep playing.''

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Although just 5-foot-4, Valley College's Byanka Delgadillo has made waves as one of the state's top scorers.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer