As tedious as Live Oak’s journey to a first girls volleyball
title since 2001 seemed, the wait for the next encore could be much
shorter. The Acorns graduated only two starters from that 2010
Mount Hamilton Division championship squad, albeit the league’s MVP
in outside hitter Gabriela Cinkova, who earned a scholarship to
play for Division I Fordham, and first-team all-league setter
Alyssa Brusaschetti, now a solid contributor at Gavilan.
Devastating as that sounds — liken it to losing an All-Pro
quarterback-wide receiver tandem — there is reason to believe the
Acorns could be a stronger, more well-rounded outfit
MORGAN HILL
As tedious as Live Oak’s journey to a first girls volleyball title since 2001 seemed, the wait for the next encore could be much shorter.
The Acorns graduated only two starters from that 2010 Mount Hamilton Division championship squad, albeit the league’s MVP in outside hitter Gabriela Cinkova, who earned a scholarship to play for Division I Fordham, and first-team all-league setter Alyssa Brusaschetti, now a solid contributor at Gavilan.
Devastating as that sounds — liken it to losing an All-Pro quarterback-wide receiver tandem — there is reason to believe the Acorns could be a stronger, more well-rounded outfit.
They return their 2010 kills leader in outside hitter Fa Saulala, who slugged 250 on the way to earning the league’s Sophomore of the Year Award; a fourth-year starting libero in Alli Unger and their twin towers in the middle in second-team all-leaguers Katie Obbema (5 foot 10) and Allison Shedden (6 foot 1).
The Acorns can fill the void left by Cinkova and Brusaschetti with veteran setters Jackie Protsman (23 digs, 18 assists in 2010) and Jenny Obbema (27 and six) — both seniors — and 5-foot-9 junior hitter Savanna Hartman (44 kills, 43 digs, 26 blocks). The team has another up-and-coming talent at outside hitter in freshman Courtney Borja.
“We have big, big shoes to fill, but we have the right people to do it,” said first-year coach James Uthes, who’s in the same boat replacing Laura Coleman, Live Oak’s previous coach of 13 years. “The pressure is all on me. The girls just have to play their best, and they’ll be fine.”
The coaching change has been understandably smooth; Uthes was an assistant under Coleman for 15 of the last 16 seasons.
“He’s really stepped up,” Katie Obbema said. “He knows what he’s doing obviously, and he knows how to push us.”
The Acorns’ competitive fire still burns bright, even with their success in 2010. Their long-awaited conference title and subsequent 22-9 finish (13-1 league) has left them more focused and less tense.
“I think it’s easier now that we have one under our belt,” said Unger, who made first-team all-league as a junior and received an American Volleyball Coaches Association/MaxPreps Player of the Week Award for her effort in Live Oak’s Central Coast Section Division III quarterfinal loss to eventual champion Sacred Heart Cathedral. “We don’t have to worry so much about when and if we’re going to break the curse of not winning league. We can just focus on our game and our individual skills and working as a team.
“I’d love to do it all over again, though, personally.”
The Acorns put in quality time during the club season and summer workouts. Uthes was especially excited with the improvement of Unger, Shedden and Katie Obbema, whose steady defense will be paramount in close games and off days for the hitters.
“Everybody’s finding a way to help each other out, even if it’s just making a good pass or helping out with blocks,” Obbema said. “We all know how hard each of us is working, and I think that just pushes us and makes us come together more.”
The ultimate goal for any team is to outdo its success from the previous year. Though the Acorns no longer have a curse to lift, as Unger said, they are just as hungry to repeat as league champions — a feat the girls volleyball program has yet to do in consecutive seasons.
The school’s dormant boys program did so in 2003-04, ironically, under Uthes.
“I don’t want to jinx it, but I definitely think we can compete for another one,” he said. “There’s no reason why they can’t. If they don’t win league, it will be because of me.”
SCHEDULE: Live Oak opened the season Thursday against Mount Madonna and will play its next game Sept. 8 at Milpitas. Mount Hamilton Division play opens Sept. 20.
