Live Oak volleyball coach Laura Coleman has made the message
loud and clear to her players: The grace period is over
MORGAN HILL — Live Oak volleyball coach Laura Coleman has made the message loud and clear to her players: The grace period is over.
Because of her team’s lack of experience, Coleman took the Lady Acorns’ 9-20 finish in 2008 with a grain of salt. Coleman will not be as content with defeat this fall.
“I do not expect us to lose like we did last season,” Coleman, now in her 12th season at Live Oak, said during Wednesday’s practice. “Obviously, we have better expectations. I’m not predicting we’re going to win league; we still have a bunch of newbies on the team. But I do expect us to be in the middle of the pack. I’m hoping we can finish there and make the playoffs.”
That would be quite a step up for a club that won three of its 12 Mount Hamilton Division contests a year ago. That team had two seniors. This one will have four, plus five underclassmen who saw regular playing time. Most of the seniors are in their third year with the program.
“That’s a good thing,” said outside hitter Annie Reyes-Ortiz, who earned second-team all-league honors as a junior in 2008. “We have high expectations. We’re over the learning experience. We want this year to be special. We have a lot of potential and we want to meet that.”
The Lady Acorns are laying a foundation for that this preseason. They will host their first league match Sept. 22 against Piedmont Hills.
Live Oak’s starting rotation began to take shape during Monday’s opener against Santa Cruz. Though her team lost, Coleman liked what she saw.
“I think we have some solid hitters,” she said. “We can finally have a hitter in each rotation instead of just one or two in the whole team! That’s what I’ve been having the past two years.
“Last year, we threw all these young girls into the mix because we had to go with who we had. I think we have a solid team this year.”
To verify, look no further than Live Oak’s potential starting front row of 6-footers Gabriella Cinkova and Allison Shedden; and middle blockers Katie Obbema and freshman Fa Saulala, who are taller than 5-foot-8. Then there’s Reyes-Ortiz, the team’s leader in kills in 2008.
“They’re tall and they play hard,” senior defensive specialist Kelly Lima said. “It’s nice for me playing behind them.”
Reyes-Ortiz will play opposite Cinkova, who is battling tendonitis in her hitting shoulder.
“We’re hoping she’s good to go by league,” Coleman said. “Allison’s going to help out. She’s a sophomore, so she’s very raw. But she tries so hard.”
Live Oak has two veteran setters in senior Jenna Robertson and junior Alyssa Brusaschetti. Coleman plans to use both to complement the team’s height.
“I may mix and match people and what position they’re going to play,” she said. “We have to be ready for anything.”
