The spike, the kill shot, is the spectacular “ooh” and “ahh” play in indoor volleyball.
Just as important to winning volleyball is the defensive play, the blocks at the net, the digs and the bumps that get the offense started so the kills will happen.
It’s the defensive side of the game that has Beckman’s girls volleyball team in excellent position to win its first CIF championship in the sport.
Beckman plays Campbell Hall on Saturday in the CIF Southern Section Division 3 championship match at Cerritos College.
The Patriots are 33-5. They have won nine consecutive matches since a tournament loss to Sierra Canyon, a CIF-SS Division 1 playoff team.
That loss was on Sept. 30. Since then the Patriots have not lost a set and that includes their four match victories in the playoffs.
Beckman senior setter Victoria Turner said the team’s defense starts at the net.
“One thing we’ve improved on a lot is our blocking,” she said. “That lets our other players see the court better. We’re picking up balls we weren’t picking up earlier in the season.”
Turner will play next season at UC San Diego. She said it’s long been her goal to attend college in San Diego, and she made it happen.
Senior libero Stacy Reeves, who was the best player on the court when the Patriots beat Canyon in the Division 3 semifinals, will go to Texas Christian University on a beach volleyball scholarship.
That’s all of the college-committed players on Beckman’s roster. There could be more in coming weeks.
Beckman coach Darin McBain said senior setter Joy Lee is the team’s best server. Senior outside hitters Camryn Hayek and Nika Safavi hit with power. Junior opposite hitter Sophia Saad is a versatile player.
The Patriots don’t have that one outstanding hitter that many of the better teams rely upon.
“I don’t think anybody necessarily stands out for us,” McBain said. “But we do have a few we can go to. We can spread it out.”
Turner appreciates that.
“When I’m the setter,” she said, “I can trust the (middle blockers) to get the ball if the outsides aren’t working.”
Beckman was seeded No. 1 in Division 3 and Campbell Hall (31-4), which is in Studio City, was seeded No. 2 going into the playoffs.
McBain, who was Beckman’s coach in their only other CIF-SS finals appearance in 2016 when they lost to Ventura in the Division 2 final, has studied Campbell Hall and sees something familiar.
“They look a lot like us,” McBain said. “They play defense really well. They don’t let the ball hit the court.”
With the two teams’ shared ball-control skills, McBain expects some long rallies Saturday.
“The team that can stay mentally tough,” he said, “is the team that’s going to win it.”
NOTES
•Orange County teams are in four of the CIF-SS girls volleyball finals Saturday, and all four of those matches will be played at Cerritos College. The lineup starts with El Dorado vs. Capistrano Valley Christian in the Division 4 final at 10 a.m. and continues with JSerra vs. Orange Lutheran in the all-Trinity League Division 2 final at 12:30 p.m., Beckman-Campbell Hall at 3:30 p.m. and Mater Dei vs. Mira Costa in the Division 1 final at 7:05 p.m. …
•Admission for the CIF-SS girls volleyball finals at Cerritos College is $12 for adults and $5 for children of ages 5-13 and for students with valid student identification. …
•Separate admission is required for the Division 1 final Saturday at Cerritos College. …
•Parking is $5. Parking permits are available at kiosks located at various locations in the Cerritos College lot on the north side of the campus. Don’t confuse that voice-activated map and direction thing in your car by saying Cerritos College is in Cerritos because it’s actually in Norwalk. …
•All of the CIF-SS girls volleyball teams that reached section semifinals qualified for the CIF Southern California Regional playoffs that begin Tuesday. All of the teams in the CIF-Ss Division 1 bracket also qualified for the regional playoffs. Regional brackets will be released Sunday afternoon. …
•There is talk of an impending strike by soccer officials in many areas of the CIF Southern Section. The referee associations for those areas are seeking an increase in pay. The Orange County soccer officials group’s board of directors voted 5-2 not to strike, said Orange County Soccer Referees president Tom Freker, but an occasional boycott by an individual or two is possible. “Personally, I’m against a strike,” Freker said, “because I have only one motivation and that’s to support the kids.” …
•When our Orange County boys basketball preview comes out on Nov. 11 Los Alamitos likely will be the top-ranked public school team. Mater Dei owns the O.C. boys basketball overall No. 1 spot, perhaps perpetually. …
•Mater Dei’s girls basketball team is the likely O.C. preseason No. 1, with Sage Hill not far behind. Buena Park and San Juan Hills will be among the higher-ranked public school teams in the preseason county rankings. …
•Sunny Hills boys golf coach Scott Enrico and Canyon baseball coach Jason Smith are the Orange County coaches who have been nominated for CIF State’s California State Coach of the Year honor. …
•Wednesday is the first day of the National Letter of Intent signing period for most sports, excluding football. The early signing period football is Dec. 20-23.
