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Westlake, T.O. chase defending league champion Newbury Park



FOCUSED—Luka Koser, a junior captain and middle blocker, bumps the ball during a four-set win against Simi Valley on March 5 at WHS. Photos by MICHAEL COONS/Acorn Newspapers

FOCUSED—Luka Koser, a junior captain and middle blocker, bumps the ball during a four-set win against Simi Valley on March 5 at WHS. Photos by MICHAEL COONS/Acorn Newspapers

BOYS’ VOLLEYBALL /// Marmonte League report

High school boys’volleyball action is heating up in Acorn country.

Newbury Park, ranked No. 11 in the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 and 2 poll, is the only ranked team in the area.

The Panthers are favorites to defend their Marmonte League title, but they’ll have to get past Calabasas, Oaks Christian, Westlake and Thousand Oaks.

Agoura joined Oak Park in the Coastal Canyon League this spring while Viewpoint swings in the Gold Coast League.

NEWBURY PARK

PANTHERS

Head coach Jorge Ostrovsky doesn’t want his Panthers to get comfortable after a 12-5 start this spring.

“We’re doing pretty well so far,” Ostrovsky said. “We’ve beaten some good teams, but we’re not at the elite level of the Loyolas and Mira Costas at this time.”

JUMP!—Westlake’s Zach Thiesen, left, and Aaron Li attempt to block a Simi Valley shot on March 5 at WHS.

JUMP!—Westlake’s Zach Thiesen, left, and Aaron Li attempt to block a Simi Valley shot on March 5 at WHS.

Newbury Park has five players 6-foot-3 or taller in the starting lineup.

“We look better walking into the gym sometimes than we do on the court,” Ostrovsky joked.

Luke Benson, a 6-foot-6 sophomore, is a monster at outside hitter.

“He’s one of the top sophomores in the nation,” the coach said.

Tim Eschenberg, a 6-foot-4 senior, excels at outside hitter, while Wayne “Chip” Baldwin, a 6-foot-5 junior who played at Oak Park last year, brings the boom at opposite hitter.

Luke Magnante, a senior, is in his fourth season starting at setter.

Ayden Bensink, a 6-foot-3 senior, and Tony Hahn, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, start at middle blocker.

Newbury Park faces rival Thousand Oaks on April 3 on the road and April 23 at home.

THOUSAND OAKS

LANCERS

The Lancers have the talent to spoil Newbury Park’s plans of league domination.

 

 

“We’re always one of the stronger leagues around,” head coach Seth Burnham said.

Thousand Oaks (7-10 overall at press time) has played tough competition early, dropping matches against ranked Division 1 and 2 teams at Los Alamitos, San Clemente and Servite.

“We’re trying to really figure out what we could have done differently,” Burnham said. “We’re playing well.”

Johnny Anselmo, a senior captain and outside hitter who verbally committed to Pepperdine, recently started considering Cal State Northridge as a college destination, the coach said.

Owen Birg, a 6-foot-7 sophomore opposite hitter, shared team MVP honors with Anselmo as a freshman in 2018.

Tyler Augustine, a 6-foot-4 senior, is in his third season starting at middle blocker. He’s mentored fellow 6-foot-4 middle blocker Sean Schmutz, a junior.

Blake Zingerman, a senior setter who’s considering playing at Cal Lutheran next season, and Nate Swanson, a senior serving specialist and middle blocker, are also captains.

Cort Johnson, a first-year varsity junior, contributes at opposite hitter. Gabe Cuico, a senior who also plays basketball, has transitioned from outside hitter to libero this spring.

WESTLAKE

WARRIORS

Westlake graduated four current Division I players last spring.

“We’re getting back on track,” head coach Eric Taylor said.

The Warriors (3-8 overall) open Marmonte action at 6 tonight at home against Newbury Park.

“I think we can battle for first,” Taylor said of league.

Westlake’s three seniors— Aaron Li, an outside hitter; Michael Shahidi, a setter; and Ian Guss, an opposite hitter—all have 4.8 GPAs. Li, a captain who was recently accepted into MIT, plans to play volleyball at the Massachusetts institution of higher learning.

Luka Koser, a junior captain, and Zach Thiesen, a 6-foot-7 junior, start at middle blocker.

Wyatt Pratt, a sophomore, starts at outside hitter, while junior Kenny Kim does the dirty work at libero.

Payton Miller, a sophomore, contributes at outside hitter and setter.

CALABASAS

COYOTES

Former head coach Cory Chandler left a void Calabasas couldn’t fill—so athletic director Jon Palarz, the school’s boys’ basketball head coach, is serving as interim head coach this spring.

“I’ll be seeing it through this year, and we’ll have another search after this year’s over,” Palarz said.

He is assisted by 2018 CHS graduate Ben Baker, the older brother of Coyote junior opposite Josh Baker.

“He’s pretty dedicated to the group,” Palarz said of Ben Baker. “We’ve been playing pretty well.”

Calabasas (8-6 overall at press time) gets a boost from three senior captains: middle blockers Shawn Krantz and Shane Egerstrom, and Matt Fulton, an outside hitter who will continue playing at UC San Diego.

Jaden Pendola, a junior, is the starting libero. Nathan Mar, a senior, starts at setter.

Harrison Rosenthal, a senior serving specialist, and junior outside hitters Ethan Soumekh and Max Strehl also contribute.

Calabasas returns to the court at 6 p.m. Friday at Oaks Christian.

OAKS CHRISTIAN

LIONS

Richard Barraza, the director of boys’ and girls’ volleyball at Mamba Sports Academy who once served as an assistant coach at Pepperdine, has taken over the Lions’ program.

“We’re kind of rebuilding,” Barraza said. “We have some guys that are new to the sport. We’re going to lean a lot on our three returners.”

Adam Rasmussen, a junior outside hitter, Zachary Flagler, a sophomore setter, and Garett Moraga, a senior outside hitter, lead this pride of Lions.

Colby Smith and Bradley Smith, seniors who are not related, patrol the net at middle blocker. Nobu Yamaguchi, a junior, excels at outside hitter. Krayoot Vongkusolkit, a junior, is a libero.

David Gabertan, a junior, contributes as a defensive specialist and outside hitter.

Winless Oaks Christian plays host to Calabasas at 6 p.m. Friday.

“ The league’s definitely tough,” the coach said. “It’s definitely going to be an uphill battle.”

Follow Jonathan Andrade on Twitter @J_ Andrade_.