Posted on 04 September 2014 by La Habra Journal
By Jeremiah Girard
La Habra Journal
The Whittier Christian girls volleyball team’s quest for a third consecutive CIF championship got off to the wrong foot Thursday night as they were swept 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-18) by the visiting Brea Olinda High School.
“We just did not execute today at all,” said Whittier Christian’s head coach, Todd Morrison. “They were able to get us out of our formations a lot and put us in some bad spots. They are a good team and we did not play to their level today.”
The team has won the last two CIF titles, but they lost almost all of their starters to graduation.
“We have a long way to go,” said captain Jeanie Reinis. “We fought hard today and did not give up and that is what defines this team. We fight.”
Reinis had a game-high 17 kills.
The game also the first for Morrison as head coach at Whittier Christian.
“Coach Morrison is a great coach,” said the co-captain Kiana Louie. “His enthusiasm is awesome and he makes us want to go hard in practice.”
Morrison knows that he has the tough task of performing up to the level that the Heralds have been known to play at. However, he knows that he and the team will be able to handle it.
“I do not think that there is any added pressure,” Morrison said. “We want to win and we want to win championships, but this is a new team and I am the new coach. The goal is to put a system in place and get these girls clicking.”
This year’s team does not have the same size and power as the one who went deep into the state championships last year. The Heralds are looking to fill the loss of two dominant outside hitters in Kylee Wolfe and Deanna Blaine.
“We need to pass well if we are going to do well this year,” Morrison said. “We have some good outside hitters but we need to put the ball in good spots.”
Even though the Heralds dropped their first match of the season, the team still is encouraged going forward this year.
“We are a young team,” Louie said. “We are still as hungry as ever though is a lot of room for improvement and we just have to go back and practice hard.
“This team can go far if they click,” Morrison added. “We expect to go into every game and compete. We think that we can definitely compete in this league and play into the playoffs. How far we go in playoffs depends on the girls.
The Heralds will look to bounce back next Thursday at Milliken in Long Beach.