Spikers Ready to Bounce Back

PALISADES HIGH GIRLS VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW

Just before the City semifinals last November, Palisades High girls volleyball Head Coach Matt Shubin told his players that he would be back to coach them this year. Their season ended that night in Woodland Hills at the hands of Taft, but true to his word Shubin has returned–marking the first tim in seven seasons that the Dolphins will have the same coach in consecutive years. “I’m excited,” said Shubin, who begins his second campaign with a much better understanding of what his job entails and a much bigger talent pool to draw from. “Last year I was kind of thrown into the mix at the last minute, without any real opportunity to work with the girls beforehand. We were going off of raw skill.” Shubin was hired the Friday before Pali’s Monday opener last season and he barely had a chance to meet his players, let alone run a practice beforehand. No such problem this year. Well over 100 girls showed up for the first round of tryouts. Since then, the number has been whittled down to 30, right about where Shubin wants it. “I’d like us to have 15 players on varsity and 15 on JV,” he said. “That way, if someone gets injured we will have an adequate substitute for every position. Just based on our depth and the fact that we have five of our six starters returning, we should be better.” The question will be whether the Dolphins have improved enough to dethrone defending City champion San Pedro or perennial power Taft, the two pre-season favorites in the City Section. “With our numbers, we’ll be able to have six-on-six scrimmages every day, so I expect our practices to be more competitive than most of our matches,” Shubin said. “No one’s spot is set in stone. Every player has another girl pushing her to get better.” Though the Dolphins return two-thirds of their starting lineup from a team that finished 17-4 and took second place in the Western League last season, the graduation of setter Kaylie McAllister, middle blocker Alina Kheyfets and defensive specialist Megan Chanin leaves the current squad without a single senior. That is only a minor concern for Shubin, who played professionally in Greece and was coaching at Sinjin Smith and Randy Stoklos’ beach volleyball camp when he heard of the opening at PaliHi. “We may still be a year away from our strongest team with this group of players,” Shubin admitted. “It all depends on how much we improve throughout the course of the season.” Still up in the air is what type of offense to run. The Dolphins ran a 6-2 last year, which uses two setters, but may switch to a more conventional 5-1 (one setter) attack this fall. “We lose a little in blocking if we go with a 6-2, but all options are on the table right now” Shubin said. “I’ve always liked the idea of having one floor leader sort of run the show.” That would be junior Jenna McAllister, who set alongside her older sister Kaylie last season. “I’m happy being the only setter if that’s what we do,” she said. Pali’s offense will again center around 6-1 junior middle blocker Alex Lunder, who led the team in kills and blocks last season. “We’re much better prepared going into this year than we were last year,” said Lunder, who played with Jenna McAllister on Sports Shack’s 16-1s club team over the summer–a squad that won the Silver bracket at the Reno Volleyball Festival. “I think we can win our league and have a chance to win City.” Perhaps the Dolphins’ most glaring weakness last season was its passing. Lunder has seen significant improvement in that area already. “That was definitely our weak link–that and our communication broke down at key times,” she said. “Now we’ve had a lot more time on court so that should definitely help.” Switching from outside hitter to middle blocker is junior Teal Johnson, who expects the Dolphins to be ready by the time the first ball is served next Friday. “It’s a little unusual not to have any seniors, but the rest of us [returners] have played together before and we know each other’s games,” she said. “A lot will depend on how fast our younger players develop.” Sophomore Laura Goldsmith returns at outside hitter and junior Rachael Ehrlich returns at libero, leaving one starting position still undecided. Junior Jennifer Donohue and freshman Bonnie Wirth are the frontrunners for the second outside hitter spot with freshman Tait Johnson, Teal’s younger sister, playing second-string libero behind Ehrlich. Shubin cited junior defensive specialist Christine Kappeyne as one of the team’s best servers. Shubin entered the Dolphins in the Gahr tournament, which starts next Friday. Palisades is the only City school in the 32-team draw, which includes Southern Section powerhouses Redondo, Long Beach Poly, Los Alamitos, Torrance, Brentwood, Marlborough and Notre Dame Academy. “That will be a real test for us,” Shubin said. “I’m looking forward to the challenge.” Assisting Shubin on the bench this year will be Chris Mortimer, who grew up in the Palisades and was a standout hitter at Brentwood and UC San Diego. Coaching the junior varsity will be Chris Forrest, who compiled a 26-4 regular season record over five seasons at Santa Monica and Venice.