May 3, 2007

SPORTS

Leland boys’ volleyball drops into third place tie with loss to Westmont

Chargers drop to 5-3 in league play, face tough final week with
matches against top contenders Leigh, Willow Glen

By Diego Abeloos
Sports Editor

The Leland boys’ volleyball team let slip a match it could ill afford to lose, dropping a 3-1 decision at Westmont on April 26 to fall into a third place tie with the Warriors.

Leland's Seth Anderson goes up for a hit as Westmont's Landen Jones attempts to block during a 3-1 loss for the Chargers on April 26. Photos by Dan Miranda

The loss dropped the Chargers to 5-3 in Mt. Hamilton Division play, as Westmont’s Jon Ng-Parish led all scorers with 21 kills in the match. The Chargers dropped the first two games of the match, both by scores of 25-20, before bouncing back with a 25-15 game three win. A late Westmont rally in game four, however, squashed any thoughts of the Chargers forcing a game five tiebreaker, as the Warriors finished off the match with a 25-21 win.

Leland head coach Jason Hilbert said his team’s penchant to start slow was a detriment in the loss to Westmont.

“I’ve been talking about this all year, how we start slow and we warm up to a game and let teams get ahead,” said Hilbert. “It’s hard to reel a good team back, especially with a player like Jon Ng-Parish. You can’t let them get started. Their outsides tore us apart, their serving tore us apart. It was critical that we started fast and we didn’t.”

With only two games remaining on the regular season schedule, the loss was a crucial one for the Chargers. In the final week of the season, the Chargers have games remaining against the league’s top two teams—Leigh on May 1 (a final score was not available at press time) before finishing the regular season at home against Willow Glen, the teams’ annual Tiki Match finale. Needless to say, Hilbert noted, the Chargers must come ready to play in the final week of the regular season.

“For seeding purposes, for CCS, for league finish, for our own title hopes, we needed to have this match,” Hilbert said of the loss to Westmont. “We came to play late. That doesn’t mean we didn’t come to play, (but) we came to play late. That’s just not good enough.”

For Westmont head coach Jeff Poppinga, the win over the Chargers was a triumph of a different sort as well in his three years at the helm of the Warriors program.

“We’ve been talking about this game for the last week-and-a-half,” said Poppinga. “Westmont, since I’ve been the coach, has not beaten Leland, so this was my first victory against (them). …We have a legitimate shot now to go to CCS.”

Down 2-0, the Chargers stormed back in game three, posting an early 8-1 scoring run to go up by nine at 18-9, racking up several points on Westmont hitting errors while also getting a kill from senior outside hitter Kenny Tran, who led Leland with 9 kills on the night. Leland cruised the rest of the way, trading points with the Warriors before putting the game away on another kill by Tran for a 25-15 final.

Leland's Justin Conmy sets the ball during a 3-1 loss to Westmont on April 26.

Leland looked to take advantage of its sudden momentum in game four as well, and did so in the early going, holding no more than a three-point lead over the Warriors in battling to a 19-16 lead. But that’s when the Warriors struck back, posting a quick 4-0 stretch, getting kills from Danny Nelson and Brandon Beville while also getting points on a pair of Leland hitting errors, to take their first lead of the game at 20-19. The teams then traded points to draw even at 21-21 before Westmont put the finishing touches on the 3-1 final by going on a second 4-0 stretch, getting a kill from Beville, a key Westmont block on a Daniel Ortiz hit, and two Leland hitting errors to end the match.

“We made some mental errors and you’ve got to push to the end and we didn’t do it,” Hilbert said of game four. “They (Westmont) made the plays.”

Hilbert added that left-handed swinger Beville, a Westmont junior, also posed a threat to his defense, both at the net and during serves. Beville finished the night with 13 kills.

“He’s a lefty and that’s really hard on the outside for a blocker,” Hilbert said. “He had some great swings and his serve tore us apart. His serve was the difference tonight.”

One bright spot in the loss for the Chargers was the play of freshman outside hitter Jacob Pederson, who has slowly played his way into more playing time, including some starts, as the season’s progressed, said Hilbert. Pederson finished with 8 kills in the loss.

“Jacob’s been coming along all year,” Hilbert said of Pederson. “Playing Westmont is good for an outside because they have shorter right side blockers. Our plan was to go to that side and put some balls away. Jacob has really progressed and become a starter. A freshman starter on a varsity team, that’s saying something.”

Hilbert added that he’s confident his team can bounce back from the tough loss, noting that his team will have a few days to prepare for a tough final week of play.

“If you’re going to lose, lose on a Thursday,” Hilbert said. “You can go into the weekend and (also) get Friday to work things out, then go into the weekend and forget about it. …I know these guys can bounce back and I know what they’re capable of.”

Pioneer baseball squad takes 8-6 win over Live Oak

Two days after dropping a tough 4-3 loss at Leigh on a walk-off home run by the Longhorns’ Nick Jones in the bottom of the ninth, the Pioneer baseball team bounced back with a resounding 8-6 win at home over Live Oak on April 26.

The win boosted Pioneer’s record to 8-8 in Mt. Hamilton Division play, while the Acorns dropped to 11-5.

Pioneer starting pitcher Scott Rudolph picked up his fourth win of the season (4-4) for the Mustangs, allowing five runs over five innings pitched against Live Oak. The Pioneer offense, meanwhile, took Acorns starting pitcher Blaine Sutton to task early, scoring three runs in both the first and second innings for an early 6-2 lead. Sutton lasted just the two innings, allowing four hits and four walks, as well as six earned runs, to pick up the loss. Pioneer outfielders Scott Lowry (pictured) and Derek Clark led the offense, with Lowry going 2 for 3 with two RBIs and Clark going 2 for 2 with three runs scored and a double.

Photo courtesy Ric Medlinger at www.medlinger.net.

High School Sports Schedule

Leland High School
Friday – Varsity girls’ lacrosse vs. Pioneer, 4 p.m.
Friday – JV girls’ lacrosse at Burlingame, 5:30 p.m.
Friday – Swimming League Trials at Independence, time TBA
Friday – Baseball vs. Leigh, 3:30 p.m.*

Saturday - Swimming League Finals, time and site TBA

Monday – Badminton league finals begin at Independence, times TBA
Monday – Golf CCS Playoffs begin, times and sites TBA
Monday – Frosh/soph boys’ lacrosse vs. RLS, 4 p.m.

Tuesday – Softball vs. Mt. Pleasant, 3:30 p.m.*
Tuesday – Baseball at Live Oak, 3:30 p.m.*

Thursday – Softball at Leigh, 3:30 p.m.*
Thursday – Boys’ volleyball CCS Playoffs begin, times and sites TBA
Thursday – Baseball at Santa Teresa, 3:30 p.m.*
Thursday – Track BVAL Championships at Mt. Pleasant, time TBA

Pioneer High School
Friday – Girls’ lacrosse at Leland, 4 p.m.
Friday – Swimming League Trials at Independence, time TBA
Friday – Baseball at Westmont, 3:30 p.m.*

Saturday - Swimming League Finals, time and site TBA

Monday – Badminton league finals at 4 p.m., site TBA
Monday – Golf CCS Playoffs begin, times and sites TBA

Tuesday – Softball vs. Live Oak, 3:30 p.m.*
Tuesday – Baseball at Santa Teresa, 3:30 p.m.*

Thursday – Softball at Evergreen, 3:30 p.m.*
Thursday – Baseball vs. Willow Glen, 3:30 p.m.*
Thursday – Boys’ volleyball CCS Playoffs begin, times and sites TBA

*JV or frosh/soph team plays at opposite site of varsity at the same time

For more information about Leland and Pioneer sporting events, go to:

Pioneer Athletics: http://www.phsathletics.com/
Leland Athletics: http://www.lelandathletics.com/
Blossom Valley Athletic League: http://www.bval.org/

High School Scoreboard

April 24
Leland baseball 7-3 win vs. Piedmont Hills
Leland softball 1-0 loss at Live Oak
Leland boys’ swimming 122-44 win vs. Santa Teresa
Leland girls’ swimming 98-82 win vs. Santa Teresa
Leland boys’ volleyball 25-14, 25-22, 25-20 win vs. Oak Grove
Leland golf 210-222 win vs. Santa Teresa

Pioneer badminton 13-2 win vs. San Jose
Pioneer boys’ volleyball 16-25, 25-19, 25-15, 17-25,15-11 win at Sobrato
Pioneer baseball 4-3 loss at Leigh
Pioneer softball 4-0 loss vs. Piedmont Hills

April 25
Leland golf 201-232 win vs. Santa Teresa

Pioneer golf 211-223 win vs. Westmont

April 26
Leland baseball 6-0 win at Westmont
Leland softball 2-1 loss vs. Evergreen

Pioneer golf 182-206 loss vs. Leigh
Pioneer softball 8-1 loss vs. Mt. Pleasant
Pioneer baseball 8-6 win vs. Live Oak
Pioneer boys’ track 86-41 loss at Evergreen
Pioneer girls’ track 102-25 loss at Evergreen
Pioneer badminton 11-4 win at Live Oak

Leland swingers cruise in Mount Hamilton Division

Chargers tennis awarded no. 8 seed in CCS

By Justin Petersen
Staff Writer

Leland received a No. 8 seed in the Central Coast Section tennis tournament and will host the winner of a May 2 match between Burlingame and Gunn in second-round action Friday.

This is the first year that the CCS has held a tournament to declare an outright tennis champion. In the past, schools were divvied into two divisions, based on enrollment.

From left: Captains Eric Banks and Michael Shieh have helped the Chargers occupy the final of eight CCS tournament seed spots.

“One of my goals was to get these guys into a CCS tournament seed,” said coach Pam Headley. “We worked really hard and the non-league matches earned it for us.”

The Chargers occupy the final of eight seed spots.

The seed means a bye in first-round action, after Leland cruised through the wilds of A-league Mount Hamilton Division play, capturing 12 victories without fault, under first year coach Headley.

Headley, who also stalks baselines in the fall as the girls’ coach, inherited a program that has won numerous league championships throughout the past two decades. Yet, the Chargers have not enjoyed great success in the post season, beyond Blossom Valley opponents.

Headley’s intention when she gained control of the program was to challenge the boys with tough non-league opponents. The Chargers faced Aptos and Saint Francis early in the year, though lost honorably.

“Leland hasn’t been seeded for several years,” said Headley. “We have a first-round bye, and I am pretty confident that we can be more than competitive with whoever we face, be it Burlingame or Gunn in the second round.”

If and when the Chargers advance, the next likely opponent is No. 1 seed Sacred Heart Preparatory. “They are a national championship caliber high school team, but you have to beat the best to be the best,” said Headley. “We have nothing to lose.”

Leland’s strength is in the top of the lineup. No. 1 singles standout Stace Klinger has been on fire of late, according to Headley.

“In the number-one spot, you face some really top players, nationally ranked and otherwise, and Stace has performed really well,” said Coach. “He has actually made some changes to his game. He used to rely on his forehand and power shots, but he is working on constructing points and shaping some of his shots.”

Outside of high school competition, Klinger recently graduated into USTA Norcal 18’s competition, as only a 16-year-old.

Headley expects No. 2 singles player Thomas Norton to excel in the postseason, also. Norton compiled a team best 15-1 win-loss record this season and will enter the Blossom Valley Athletic League singles tournament May 11 as the No. 2 seed, behind only Klinger.

Freshman Brian Higashi, and junior Mike Chen round out Leland’s individual lineup.

In doubles action, Eric Banks and O’Sheen Davoudi make up Mount Hamilton’s top doubles team. The duo has been playing with one another for three years.

No. 2 doubles players Sam Hatamian and Teddy Truong, along with the No. 3 team—Michael Shieh and Sahil Backshi—also are steady, according to Headley.

Meanwhile, junior Johnathan Moh is the Chargers’ top reserve. Moh has filled in on every doubles team and in the No. 4 singles spot this season for Leland.

Sports Briefs

CV Strikers Boys U14  Soccer Tryouts Class III  
Division A Central Santa Clara Valley Strikers is holding tryouts May 5 and May 12 from 2-4 p.m. at James Lick High School, 57 N. White Road in San Jose. 

Players of all skill levels are welcome to join the fun, but must be born between Aug 1, 1993 and July 31, 1995. For questions and/or additional information, call Coach Omar Alvarado at 408-242-3835, or go to www.cvstrikers.org. 

Bike Tour scheduled
The 16th Annual Springtime Bike Tour of the South Santa Clara Valley is scheduled for Saturday, May 12, at the Paramite Corporation, 18735 Madrone Parkway in Morgan Hill. The 100 mile and 100 kilometer courses start at 6am - all other courses start at 7a.m. This family-oriented event includes refreshments at course beginning, six rest stops, and a BBQ lunch at the end. Entry fees are $45 before May 6 and $50 after. There are special family and tandem bike rates. Almaden Super Lions uses event proceeds to help the blind and visually impaired as well as other projects such as ‘Backpacks for Needy Kids” and holiday food baskets for disadvantaged families. For registration/information visit www.icareclassic.org or call Judy Froom – 782-6287.

Rams Golf Classic June 5
The Willow Glen High School Athletics Booster Club will host its Fourteenth Annual Rams Golf Classic on June 5, 2007 at the Spring Valley Golf Course. Registration/check in at noon, four-person scramble at two o’clock. Cost is $160 per player and includes entry fee/carts. All proceeds support Willow Glen High School Athletic and Spirit programs.  For more information and to register, please visit wghsgolf.googlepages.com.

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