Libero

CRESCENTA VALLEY COACH : Jennifer Kunz, 11th year. LEAGUE : Pacific. LAST SEASON : 13-11, 8-6 for fourth place in league. Defeated by La Cañada in CIF Southern Section Division II-A first round. PLAYERS TO WATCH : Maggie Rajtar, senior, outside hitter; Jamie Nakawatase, junior, setter; Lorrin Cheeney, senior, setter. ? FLINTRIDGE PREP COACH : Sean Beattie, 10th year. LEAGUE : Prep. LAST SEASON : 3-14, 1-11 in league for sixth-place tie. Did not qualify for the playoffs.

During the past 15 seasons, the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy volleyball program has built a storied tradition, evidenced by a pair of CIF Southern Section championships in 1996 and 1997 and consistently challenging for Mission League championships. It's something Ernest Banaag recognized from afar while shaping the Mayfield volleyball team into a perennial CIF champion. Banaag pined to become the head coach at Sacred Heart if the position ever became available. It did after last season, leading to Banaag applying for the job and filling the role.

The UC Irvine women's volleyball team has been picked to finish fifth in the Big West Conference in the coaches' preseason poll. UC Santa Barbara was picked to finish first, receiving six first-place votes. Long Beach State was chosen to finish second while University of the Pacific and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo were picked to finish third and fourth, respectively. The Anteaters, were 18-11 last season, 11-7 in conference. They finished in a fourth-place tie in the Big West and earned their second straight NCAA tournament berth.

CRESCENTA VALLEY COACH: Jennifer Kunz Ryan, ninth year. LEAGUE: Pacific. LAST SEASON: 8-13, 6-5 in league for third place. Lost to Walnut in three games in CIF Southern Section Division IA first round. PLAYERS TO WATCH: Laura Boyd, senior, middle blocker; Shereen Cline, senior, outside hitter; Erin Engle, senior, defensive specialist; Katlyn Grossnickle, senior, libero; Briana Hill, junior, setter; Emily Kuleto, senior, opposite; Jennifer Kwon, senior, setter; Myra Nishizaki, junior, outside hitter.

Scott Melesky Not many things have gone right for the Glendale Community College women's volleyball team the past decade. The struggling program was even scrapped in 2002, after the college's athletic department decided the team couldn't field enough players. The Vaqueros returned last season from their brief hiatus, but struggled, going 1-18 and 0-14 in the Western State Conference. But despite two months of gloom, the Vaqueros were able to find two bright spots in setter/outside hitter Jocelyn Abad and Merisol Speat.

These are big days that lie ahead of Jillian Davis. On Aug. 25, the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy graduate has a birthday, her 21st, in fact. On that same day, the UC Berkeley women's volleyball team begins its 2006 year. For Davis and company, it's predicted to be the genesis of the program's greatest season. Big days, indeed. Davis, along with Samantha Carter, is co-captaining the squad, hopefully, into uncharted waters. For three successive seasons, these Golden Bears have made the NCAA playoffs and an unprecedented fourth consecutive trip will only be the starting point in reaching the team's redefined goals.

Glendale Community College enjoyed a renaissance in the spring that put it on the state map. Two individual athletes won state championships and the baseball and men's golf teams advanced to their respective state tournaments. Glendale college women's volleyball Coach Yvette Ybarra surveyed much of the success. Now, she'd like for that to rub off on her team. "It's something we hope will rub off because it's the type of thing that can propel people," said Ybarra, whose team opens its season at 3 p.m. today against Santa Barbara City College at the Pasadena City College Quad Tournament.

GLENDALE — Fresh off traveling nearly two hours by bus across several busy freeways into the Inland Empire, the Crescenta Valley High girls’ volleyball team came prepared for the CIF Southern Section Division II-A playoffs. The Falcons, who finished fourth in the Pacific League, found themselves up against San Andreas League champion Cajon in a first-round match. They gave the Cowboys all they could handle, but couldn’t extend their season. Crescenta Valley saw its campaign conclude Wednesday with a 28-26, 28-26, 21-25, 25-18 loss to Cajon, which will next face Redlands East Valley in a second-round home match at 7 p.m. today.

Edgar Melik-Stepanyan Jillian Davis sat down long enough to despise sitting on the bench. The Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy graduate had no other choice. For the second half of the UC Berkeley women's volleyball team's 2004 season, Davis -- a junior libero for the Golden Bears -- was forced to watch while recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee. As her teammates practiced, she received treatment in the training room.