CAMPOLINDO 

In its fourth year of beach volleyball, Campolindo has its largest roster ever with 26 players, but it is a very young team with only three seniors and a large number of freshmen on the roster.

    It’s a sport that co-head coach Laura Rockwell says the players learn from their coaches on how to play but also learn as much by themselves on the court. “We’re only able to coach them during timeouts and changeovers so it really helps them build their own strategy and empowerment. 

    “With only two seniors on the roster, and a large freshman class, there is a solid foundation for the future of the team. With only two players on the court, the amount of touches is way more than they get indoors. We want them at the end of the season to know in the core of their being that they improved on x, y, z which is what they set out to do.”

    Unlike indoor volleyball, on the beach, you need to have well rounded skills, a high court IQ and the ability to see your opponent’s weaknesses and avoiding their strengths. “Our girls are really passionate about indoor and some more so with beach volleyball,” Rockwell said. “Some of the girls lack experience with beach volleyball and are learning and playing a sport they love.”

    There is a real strategy in pairing up the players, often pairing a taller and shorter player, but the key component is often their ability to connect with each other.

    Campolindo’s number one team is two sophomores, Hanna Raczynska and Sophia Wilson, this being Wilson’s first year on the beach team. “They are very strong, all-around players, offensively and defensively,” Rockwell said. “They are evenly matched physically and have good chemistry. They really hustle and show a willingness to make the play and work together.”

    Their second team is senior Evey Uziel and junior Molly Herrington. “Evie is a shorter but well-rounded player,” Rockwell said. “She is an excellent teammate that has excellent visibility on the court and great control of the ball to put in locations where the opponent is not. Molly is a very well-rounded player and athlete with great communication and hustle that can make the best out of any situation.”

    Two juniors trying beach for the first time, Rory Cruz and Dior Duru, have made the adjustment to the beach very well, showing excellent drive, hustle, and a willingness to learn.

    Others who have stood out have been junior Sadie Jai, who has proven herself with her shots and ball placement, and sophomore Megan Sugiyama who has really improved and is showing a lot of promise.

    Leading the 12 freshmen on the roster, are Grace Thiel, Katherine Deng, Leila Azzani, Lexie Gilmore, and Darcy Best, developing their offense, defense and setting skills and taking ownership on the court.

    In the DAL tournament, Las Lomas came in first and the teams of Raczynska and Wilson finished in second and Uziel and Duru came in third.

ACALANES 

    In her third year as the Acalanes head coach, Nicole Kuhnle wanted a commitment made by her players by insisting that they choose to play beach volleyball or with their indoor club team during the season. “Our roster has grown to 17 players with a large number of freshmen and sophomores, who have been very excited to play beach,” Kuhnle said.

    As a personal trainer and pain free performance specialist, Kuhnle brings her own philosophy to coaching, “I'm big in nutrition, and so I really try to instill healthy habits in them, starting with their warmups. Our bodies are only as good as we are mobile, healthy, and feeling safe. I am a coach that puts the athlete over the wins and I believe in building character with our team, pushing them appropriately, making sure that they focus on doing things correctly and the wins will happen.”

    Sydney Scovic, a junior, has been the leading player for the team and has already committed to playing for Tulane University after she graduates. She also plays indoor for Acalanes but prefers playing beach: “I just love being outside and not in an indoor convention center with a ton of whistles and you’re in and out of the game. It’s great conditioning on the sand and it’s allowed me to jump higher when playing indoor volleyball.”

    Matching the players appropriately is also important to Kuhnle: “I try give each team a hitter and a defender though that is not always possible.”

    Mira Clark and Fran Barbano are both well rounded players. “Mira is scrappy, sees the court really well, moves the ball around and is very good on defense. Fran is also well rounded and is a good shooter. It’s a matter of looking at how well they will work together.”

    Sydney Scovic has also been paired with Barbano. “Sydney has good height and hitting power and is our best consistent blocker. She is a good setter and is working on improving her passing.”

    Krystina Merkelo and Shaelyn McCall work well together. “Shae is a well-rounded player that can see the court, places the ball well and is a good communicator and is very supportive to her partners. Krystina is just a little firecracker that is scrappy and can move. She finds a spot on the court and is always positive and has a lot of potential.”

    Stella Larkin and Ella Meewes are also complementary of each other. “As a team, they move the ball around well and both can cut and shoot. Ella can hit on the ball and also shoot whereas Stella is fast and has shown overall improvement since she started.”

    Kuhnle has seen constant improvement with the team: “The players have shown a much better understanding of beach and being able to anticipate what could happen. They have improved their option shots and are seeing the court and moving the ball around a lot better and doing better with serve and receive.”

MIRAMONTE 

    This is Miramonte’s first year with a beach volleyball team and its first year in the league and is being coached by Miramonte indoor volleyball coach Sylvia Colucci.

    “We’ve had a great turnout with 25 girls trying out and had to cut the roster down to 14 girls,” Colucci said. “Half of our team is made up of freshmen and it’s a team that is hungry for the game. I had some parents reach out to me about starting a beach volleyball team and so I decided to take it on. I'm so excited for Miramonte to have this program start this year. We have such a great group of young female athletes that are very fit, so they’ve been able to get their sand legs fairly quickly and what better way to get fit and do something you love, then to be outdoors?”

    Colucci sees a lot of positives with the teams that she is putting out on the court. Miramonte’s first team players are two freshmen, Gianna Kaspari and Lucy Targonski. “They're both great indoor players and have great volleyball IQ. They know each other well and they communicate incredibly. They’re very different players so bringing them together as a defender and a blocker works amazingly well.”

    The number two team players are also freshmen, Olivia Morrow and Madeline Stout. “Surprisingly, they did not come over from indoor volleyball; they are tennis players though they knew the game coming in and they done a great job in adjusting to the sport. They're good friends so that is something that helps their team chemistry, which is fantastic.”

    Maddie Young, a junior, has been a leader and a very solid player and Olivia Gotts, another freshman who played on the Miramonte indoor team has really stepped up. “Olivia has shown herself to be a player that really hustles and is able to partner with anybody.”

    What is the most important thing that Colucci says the girls need to learn? “Communication, 1,000%. I’ve told the girls that their skill levels are high but that we need to work on our communication and how we show up as teammates because we’re playing as an I versus a we. It's about an entire team and how we support each other, showing up, pushing, communicating, and motivating each other which is what is going to carry the team forward. We’re looking towards when they start having NCS playoffs for beach volleyball which at that point will be our goal.”