“That’s not easy to get 20 wins,” Rebels Coach Sean Beattie said of the 20-win milestone, which had never been achieved by another team in program history. “That’s something these kids need to take to see how proud they should be of the season they had.”
The last time the Rebels made it to the semifinals, in 2007, most figured the best shot Prep had to get back there was the ’08 squad that featured many of the same players in their senior years.
That talented group made it as far as the quarterfinals and without standouts Dylan Walker, Reed Bradley, Peter Denton and others, this year’s team was regarded as a rebuilding project. The reconstruction was remarkably quick.
“I think we lost 10 meters in height to graduation,” Beattie said. “The guys that came back, they had to move positions. From start to finish they grew, from game to game they got just a little bit better.”
They didn’t get off to the fastest start, but the Rebels were ready to play when the Prep League schedule began and finished second.
Their playoff wins over California Academy of Math and Science, Thousand Oaks Hillcrest Christian and Arrowhead Christian Academy showed this team had equaled the caliber of recent contenders and took pride in its play.
“We lost our two inspirational leaders of the team and had to completely rebuild this year,” said senior setter Steve Morse, who took over for Bradley. “Going to the semifinals and having a better record than last year, it’s a great year and I’m really proud of the team.”
According to senior outside hitter Gavin Thomson, who filled the shoes of Walker, a two-time All-Area Boys’ Volleyball Player of the Year, the key to defying outside expectations was tuning them out all together and getting stronger as a team.
