THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 29, 1995 TAG: 9510270229
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 26 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, CLIPPER SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
JIM STANKO, HEAD coach of the undefeated, top-ranked Western Branch girls volleyball team, is used to seeing the sport played at the highest level.
So when he walked into the gym for the first day of boys volleyball practice in August, Stanko was in for a bit of a shock.
``That first day, we had an open gym and just let them go out and play. And I thought, `What have I got myself into?','' Stanko said.
Welcome to the inaugural season of boys volleyball in Chesapeake.
By all accounts, every team has improved dramatically since those first early days, when hitting the ball hard was more important than learning the basic playing skills. Two teams - Great Bridge and Western Branch - have vaulted to the front of the pack.
Entering the final game of the season Thursday, the Wildcats led the standings with a perfect 7-0 record. Western Branch trailed by a game, 6-1.
The two teams squared off on the Bruins home court, where a win by Western Branch would force a one-game playoff to determine the regular-season district title, which includes an automatic berth in the Eastern Region playoffs Nov. 6 at Tallwood.
Andrew Powers came through with 17-for-17 serving for the Bruins, who edged Great Bridge 15-8, 9-15, 16-14 to earn a playoff Monday at Oscar Smith.
Indian River qualified for the Southeastern District tournament, being held Tuesday and Wednesday at Oscar Smith High School, with a 3-5 district record. Deep Creek and Oscar Smith faced each other on the final day of play tied at 1-6, with the Hornets sweeping host Oscar Smith for the final playoff berth.
The top two teams out of the district tournament advance to regional competition.
For Great Bridge's Bill Clement, who coached the Wildcats' girls volleyball team last year, the season started out shrouded in mystery.
``I really didn't know what to expect. That was one of the exciting things about it - you had no idea what you'd end up with,'' Clement said. ``The kids that showed up were the team.''
Three players in particular have been standouts for Great Bridge. Captain Mark Higginbotham is a fearless hitter and blocker, and setter Vic Vanderberg is one of the team's best all-around players.
Junior Bradford Tibbs is one of the team's hardest hitters and, according to Clement, can ``jump out of the gym.''
The Wildcats' success is bittersweet in a way - 10 of the 12 players are seniors, so there's not much to build on for the future.
``It's a one-shot deal,'' Clement said. ``Next year we're back to the drawing board.''
Western Branch, which beat Great Bridge in a game that didn't count toward the district standings, is in the same position. Ten of the Bruins' 15 players will be graduating.
Although Western Branch will lose seniors Powers, Josh Brinkley, Bruce Austin and Eric Steinfort, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Freshman Bryan Pureza has been solid as the team's number 2 setter.
``We haven't seen the crowds, but there's a lot of interest at the school. A lot of kids didn't even know we had a team,'' said Stanko, who coaches the Bruins along with Gary Steinfort. ``But we're just starting out. We scrimmaged the Beach teams and got a clinic on what volleyball is all about.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by GARY C. KNAPP
Brad Tibbs of Great Bridge has his spike blocked during practice.
by CNB