Jessica Westall needed two hands to count how many varsity volleyball coaches she has played for at Sobrato High School.
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I’ve had six,
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the 5-foot-11 senior hitter said Wednesday during practice.
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I just want to have stability, because we haven’t had stability since I’ve been here.
”
The Bulldogs hope they have found that with their newest coach, Jason Medenceles, who took over after Danny Chan stepped down at the end of last season for personal reasons
MORGAN HILL
Jessica Westall needed two hands to count how many varsity volleyball coaches she has played for at Sobrato High School.
“I’ve had six,” the 5-foot-11 senior hitter said Wednesday during practice. “I just want to have stability, because we haven’t had stability since I’ve been here.”
The Bulldogs hope they have found that with their newest coach, Jason Medenceles, who took over after Danny Chan stepped down at the end of last season for personal reasons.
Stable or not, Sobrato has the right composition this fall to contend for a Santa Teresa Division championship — something else Westall wants to see come to fruition in her final year. Medenceles believes it’s possible. And the 2003 Tri County Athletic League MVP from Gilroy is not alone.
“Some of my old teammates are coaches and assistant coaches in different programs now, and that’s the first thing they told me about this program; they think very highly of it,” Medenceles said. “There’s expectations of my team taking this league.”
Supporting evidence was prominent Tuesday in the SHS gym, as returning starters Emily Kyle (junior, 5-foot-9), Rebekah Inouye (junior, 5-foot-10) and Westall played pepper with each other and spiked picturesque sets by sophomore Miranda Werts, the latest in a long line of talented Sobrato setters.
Veterans comprise 80 percent of the Bulldogs’ roster, including five
starters from 2010 when Sobrato took fourth in the division at 7-7.
“There’s a lot of experience on my team, a lot of depth, too,” said Medenceles, whose coaching career features stops at San Jose State and Christopher High School.
“The foundation definitely showed when I first got here, because hardly any of the girls worked out together over summer. First week, their skills were already there. Now it’s a matter of them learning the different complexities and tactics of volleyball. We want to put those skills together and progress — that’s the main key word for us this year.”
Much can be said about the seasoned front line in few words; they’re tall, athletic and improved. the hitters, Kyle and Westall, led the team in kills a year ago with Kyle earning second-team all-league honors. Inouye has agility and hops — she high jumped for SHS in spring and started for the soccer team in winter — and is crafty at the net. Her partner at middle blocker is, newcomer Melissa Nepomuceno, a 5-foot-10 junior with great hands.
“It’s exciting playing with them,” said Werts, who last year honed her skills playing behind first-team all-league setter Kayla McElvy. “We’re going to be able to do a lot of fun plays.”
Medenceles called Werts the best setter he has coached.
“She’s young, but she has a lot of experience with different clubs, different programs,” he said. “She’s going to be at the center of everything.”
Sobrato’s defensive specialists are junior Devyn Gunsky and senior Kaylee Simmons. Both have played volleyball for years.
The Bulldogs open the season Sept. 10 at a tournament in Watsonville but got their first taste of competition last week in a scrimmage event at Independence High School, where they managed well against division foes Prospect, Pioneer and Branham, the 2010 West Valley Division champ, and Mount Hamilton Division members Evergreen Valley and Leland.
“I think it’s great we’re making progress already and setting and adding to the foundation,” said Westall, a soon-to-be four-year letterman. “It holds us back when we keep having to start over with new coaches and new plays, new philosophies. It doesn’t feel like that this year.”
