A new coach, but the same winning ways.
Katie Borden had 16 kills Wednesday as the uber-experienced Laguna Blanca girls volleyball team took down Condor-League foe Thacher 25-13, 25-16, 25-21 at Merovick Gym with the building’s namesake, former headmaster Arthur Merovick, in attendance.
Jackie Harvey added 13 and Annie Varni notched eight with two blocks in the home sweep.
The Owls’ only non-tournament loss this season has come at the hands of one of the nation’s best teams, Dos Pueblos. Otherwise, Laguna has used its wealth of experience to make a strong impression in its first season at the Division IV-AA level.
Four returning seniors — each with at least three years of varsity experience — have made Alzina’s rookie season as the team’s coach much easier. All of them (Borden, Varni, Monica Beltran and Jenn Murphy) won a CIF title with the team in 2006.
“They run the show and I just tweak things that need to be tweaked,” said Alzina.
In all, nine players from last year’s CIF runner-up team are back for Laguna Blanca.
“We have a lot of potential this year. When we fall behind, we just use leadership from the seniors and pull together,” said Borden, a four-year varsity player and captain.
Alzina has taken the reins this year after the departure of longtime coach Jason Donnelly, who is now an assistant at Rutgers University.
“It’s definitely been hard without Jason, but everyone likes Jim and we’re all connecting on the court,” said Borden.
The Owls are not a tall team by any means, but Alzina said that an emphasis on defense has been the key.
“That’s what we start practice with every single day. We’ll do a good 45 minutes of just ball control every day, and that’s what wins all our games,” he said. “We never overpower anybody and we’re not a tall team. It’s just ball control, ball control, ball control. That’s how it’s always been around here and that’s probably how it always will be.”
While the focus on passing and defense remains, there is a different vibe around the program with Alzina around.
“Jason’s definitely more of a yeller, for sure. I think Jim’s a little more positive, while Jason was just really honest. He’s the nice guy, but that’s good,” said Borden.
“My style has always been much more of the technical style. JD had better lungs on him,” said Alzina.
The Owls (9-1) host St. Bonaventure on Tuesday.
