Longtime Castle Park coach Chris Kryjewski has landed another sport to coach at the west side Chula Vista school: girls volleyball.
He’s been greeted by a large turnout of more than 60 girls. However, he expects the varsity team will have just two seniors on its roster.
“The varsity squad will be young but we will be competitive,” he said. “Our goal is to get better every day.”
It’s a good mantra to start with.
Castle Park’s girls lacrosse team finished with a winning 10-8 record under Kryjewski’s leadership last spring after posting 0-17, 2-15 and 6-14 finishes in a development mode the previous three seasons.
Kryjewski is hoping to bring the same turnaround with him as he ushers in a new era with the school’s girls volleyball team.
The team finished 13-19 last season, including a 3-7 mark in South Bay League play.
Castle Park’s top returners include seniors Asontee Jackson, Alayla Navarro and Janelle Grimsley along with juniors Leticia Rodriguez and Kaylee Smith.
The team’s impact newcomers include seniors Laura Gutierrez and Pricilla Ortiz and junior Isabella Yuhas.
“The Castle Park girls volleyball team will be young but we have some seasoned experience on the roster with five seniors who will lead our team,” Kryjewski said. “Our goals are to compete in our league and have a winning record in league play. We also want to get a high seed in the playoffs and go deep in the CIF Division IV bracket.”
Seeing red
Sweetwater coach Erick Hernandez said his team has been rebuilding over the past three seasons, showing positive results along the way.
“We started rebuilding three years ago,” Hernandez said. “We went 3-7 two years ago in league. Last year we went 5-5 and tied for third place in league. We are expecting to compete for a championship.
“We are a small team but we strive to have great defense. Playing good defense gives our team a chance to win. Most of the girls have had varsity experience or have made it though our program. We hope that experience is a big factor in our development over the year.”
The Lady Red Devils are off to a 5-1 start so far this season after racking up four wins in the Santa Ana tournament and a non-league win last Friday over visiting Foothills Christian.
Senior Jocelyn Flores, a three-year varsity outside hitter starter, leads Sweetwater’s returning group. Two years ago she earned second team all-league recognition and last year she was a first team selection.
Esperanza Alcantar was second team all league last year as a libero as a junior and looks to continue to be the team’s starting libero in her third year on varsity.
Among the team’s impact newcomers, junior Zoe Canto has emerged as the early season starter at the other outside position after being a backup varsity player last year.
Sweetwater will host its annual preseason tournament this weekend. Games are Friday and Saturday in both the new and old gyms on campus.
Friday’s games are scheduled from 3:30 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday’s Gold and Silver division playoffs are slated at the National City school from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Eastlake looking to establish itself as one of section’s premier teams
The 2019 high school girls volleyball season has faced off with a bang, in particular for Eastlake High School after advancing to the semifinals of Saturday’s elite California Challenge at Alliant University.
The Titans compiled a 4-2 record against some of the top teams in the state and elsewhere, recording wins over Buchanan (Clovis), Salt Lake City West, San Juan Hills (San Juan Capistrano) and Village Christian (Sun Valley).
Eastlake’s losses were against La Costa Canyon (in the opening game) and Cathedral Catholic (in the semifinals).
Torrey Pines defeated Cathedral Catholic to win the division championship.
The Titans emerged from the top-notch gathering with a 5-3 overall record after splitting a pair of non-league games to open the season.
Eastlake lost to Bishop’s 3-0 to open the season on Aug. 20, then defeated Del Norte 3-1 in another non-league match-up on Aug. 21.
The California Challenge was spread over two days, Aug. 23-24, last weekend.
EHS coach Erwin Macalaguim was obviously pleased by his team’s showing, especially when facing a bit of adversity.
“We have a good group of kids who just play for each other,” Macalaguim said. “We were missing two of our starters for Saturday because of SATs and the two younger players, Mia Wax and Bianca Merloti, stepped up. My veteran players Lauren Clifton and Breanna Agustin kept encouraging the younger players to play hard and kept the team together.
“We still have a long way to go where we want to be by CIF playoffs but this weekend was a step in the right direction.”
Of note, Agustin earned a berth on the all-tournament team.
Rewind
The Titans finished 22-19 last season en route to capturing the Mesa League championship with a perfect 12-0 record and advanced to the semifinal round of the San Diego Section Division I playoffs.
Eastlake, seeded seventh, dropped a 3-2 decision to third-seeded Westview to end its run in the section playoffs but earned a subsequent berth in the Division II state playoffs, falling 3-0 to Village Christian in the opening round.
Last weekend’s tournament playoff win over Village Christian made amends for last year’s ouster in the state playoffs.
Fast forward
Top returners for Eastlake this season include seniors Madison Bogle, Clifton and Agustin.
Bogle and Clifton both earned all-league recognition last year.
Sophomore Savannah Johnson ranks among the team’s impact newcomers.
The Titans, currently ranked third among Division I teams, are off until hosting a Sept. 6 non-league match against Ramona.
“We have a handful of players with multiple years of experience and if we can build some team chemistry we should be able to find some success this season,” Macalaguim said. “Last year we had to fight off Otay Ranch in a five-set match to win league.”
Add Mesa League
Last year’s Otay Ranch team finished 22-13 but dropped its first game in the Division I playoffs to eventual CIF runner-up Point Loma.
Top returners off that squad include Kaylee Davis and Arramis Gonzales while impact newcomers include Zoe Rachow and Hannah Sanchez.
Overall the outlook for this season is optimistic, according to coach Michael Pandaan.
“Looking forward to working with a bunch of young women who have a lot of drive and love for the game,” Pandaan said. “Already they are showing so much potential as last year’s team. Their attitude and unity as one team is amazing. They have mentioned that they will play for each other and not for themselves. They have also come up with their own quote for the season which is: ‘Its amazing how much we can accomplish when no one takes the credit.’”
Davis was the early season leader on the team with 21 kills while Rachow had racked up 10 serving aces and 46 assists.
Other team leaders included junior Lauren Ramirez with 19 digs and Davis with 18 digs.
Moving up
Senior middle blocker Kaiyah Brown, a first team all-league pick from last season, leads the top returners on Bonita Vista, which is off to a 2-0 start to the new season following impressive non-league wins over Steele Canyon (3-2 on Aug. 21) and Grossmont (3-0 last Friday).
The team returns all but four players from last season’s underclassman-heavy 3-25 squad and will have good experience, according to coach Michael Ortiz.
“The hope is that all newcomers — three freshmen and one junior — will have a great impact,” he said.
Sophomore Keely Larson had racked up 17 kills and six blocks in the team’s start while senior Julia Hill had accumulated 14 kills. Freshman Alina Inzunza had four serving aces while classmate Maria Coronado had recorded 35 digs.
Assists leaders included freshman Jaiden Mojica (42) and junior Dara Torres (20).
Aztec pride
Montgomery defeated visiting Hilltop 25-10, 25-13, 25-15 last Friday to improve to 3-0 on the young season.
Siera Van Deusen had10 kills while Jessica Limcolioc recorded 25 assists and five serving aces.
Metro Conference 2019 Girls Volleyball Alignment
Mesa League
- Bonita Vista
- Eastlake
- Mar Vista
- Mater Dei Catholic
- Montgomery
- Olympian
- Otay Ranch
South Bay League
- Castle Park
- Chula Vista
- Hilltop
- San Ysidro
- Southwest
- Sweetwater
