STATE TITLE CAPS DOMINANT H.-W. YEAR WOLVERINES MAKE IT LOOK EASY IN DIVISION III FINAL H.-W. 3, LOS GATOS 0.Byline: Chris Cocoles Staff Writer CYPRESS - A 27-2 record, a win over a national No.-1-ranked team and convincing section- and state-championship runs. So what kind of encore can the Harvard-Westlake girls' volleyball team stage in 2001? Perhaps be even better? Topping this year seems tough. The Wolverines wiped out Los Gatos Los Gatos (lôs gä`tōs, lŏs, găt`əs), city (1990 pop. 27,357), Santa Clara co., W Calif.; inc. 1887. It is an affluent residential community and health resort. 15-7, 15-8, 15-7 in Saturday's Division III
Division III (or DIII) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association of the United States. State Championship match at Cypress College Cypress College is a community college located in Cypress, California. Opened on September 12 1966 , the southern California college offers a variety of general education (51 associates degrees), transfer courses (58 transfer majors), and 139 vocational programs leading to . Harvard-Westlake's gaudy record included the aforementioned victory over Mira Costa, ranked first in the latest Fox Fab 50 national poll. In four state-playoff sweeps, the Wolverines never allowed double-digit points in a game. ``I think we were very confident,'' outside hitter Karalyn Kuchenbecker said. ``We expected a hard game today.'' The Wolverines didn't get it from Northern California Northern California, sometimes referred to as NorCal, is the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The region contains the San Francisco Bay Area, the state capital, Sacramento; as well as the substantial natural beauty of the redwood forests, the northern champion Los Gatos (24-10). The Wildcats couldn't contain Kuchenbecker (11 kills), and middle blockers Courtney Schultz (20 kills, 21 digs) or Terbrie Taylor (nine kills, five solo blocks). All three players are back next season, giving coach Jess jesse, jess a leather strap placed around each shank of a hawk used for hunting, for the attachment of a leash. Quiroz plenty of talent to build another possible state champion after capturing his second title since 1995 Saturday. ``Going into the tail end of the playoffs, they were just on fire,'' Quiroz said. ``There were very little mistakes made out there.'' The Wolverines sensed they had championship material in August at their annual trip to Hawaii for the Iolani Tournament. A tournament title included beating eventual Southern Section Division I champion Mira Costa. ``It really helped us prepare for tough matches. Situations like this,'' Schultz said. ``We didn't know what to expect.'' Neither did Los Gatos, which like earlier state opponents Tollhouse Sierra, Oakhurst Yosemite and San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. University rarely posed threats to the Wolverines. ``I think we were a little overwhelmed o·ver·whelm tr.v. o·ver·whelmed, o·ver·whelm·ing, o·ver·whelms 1. To surge over and submerge; engulf: waves overwhelming the rocky shoreline. 2. a. with the environment. Obviously, the team that we played was very good,'' Los Gatos coach Joe Ripp said. ``(The Wolverines) passed the ball better than we thought they could. . . . They're very offensive (in style of play).'' The Wildcats knew Schultz, the match's MVP (Multimedia Video Processor) A high-speed DSP chip from Texas Instruments, introduced in 1994. Officially introduced as the TMS320C80, it combines RISC technology with the functionality of four DSPs on one chip. , and Kuchenbecker were touted as the Wolverines' big guns. But Taylor was impressive with her dominating net play. ``The difference was, this is what I've been waiting for all season,'' Taylor said. ``And the only way we could achieve it was if we went out there and played our best.'' The Wolverines must replace eight seniors, led by setter setter: see sporting dog. setter Any of three breeds derived from a medieval hunting dog that would set (lie down) when it found birds so that it and the birds could be covered with a net. Setters have long hair on the ears, chest, legs, and tail. Annie Hoeksma and opposite Anna Nesser. But the return of Schultz - one of the state's top players - Kuchenbecker and Taylor forms a strong nucleus. ``I think it will be great. I'm really excited about next year,'' Kuchenbecker said. Hoeksma recorded 50 assists and Nesser had seven kills and 12 digs. Lauren Rinhart led the Wildcats with 10 kills. TITLE CENTRAL Harvard-Westlake girls' volleyball titles since 1995: SOUTHERN SECTION 1995 1997 1998 2000 STATE 1995 2000 CAPTION(S): box Box: TITLE CENTRAL (see text) |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion