The Malibu High School Sharks boys’ volleyball team began a shortened season last week after a monthlong delay due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The eight-man group began its campaign in winning fashion. The squad downed Valley Christian, 3-2, on April 14 and swept Viewpoint, 3-0, two days later.
Sharks head coach Derek Saenz said it felt great for the team to be in action again.
“It felt good to get back because there was a lot of work to make it happen,” he said. “The kids got to compete and do what they have been training to do—whether it was training on the grass, training on the beach [or] renting gym space in order to get a little training in.”
Malibu 12th-grader Sebastian Quinonez echoed his coach’s sentiments.
“Being able to play high school volleyball is every exciting,” he said. “Being able to end my year with a bang is very exciting.”
The Sharks had their first Citrus Coast League meeting on Tuesday against Hueneme and have a second league contest on Thursday against Fillmore. Malibu hosts Royal on Friday at 5 p.m. for a nonleague matchup.
The boys’ volleyball team, like other indoor youth and high school sports across the Golden State, was allowed to hit the court again after a lawsuit filed in the Let Them Play sports movement against California Governor Gavin Newsom was settled weeks ago.
There are still COVID-19 restrictions in place; for example, the players compete with masks on. But they are running, jumping and spiking again.
Malibu performed well despite some “first-game jitters,” said Saenz. The Sharks went 16-25, 25-15, 25-21, 25-27, 15-8 against Valley Christian.
“One of the things about underperforming is you see what your kids do when things aren’t going their way,” the coach said. “Mental toughness and persistence is what we have been pushing.”
Malibu went 25-20, 25-26, 25-17 against Viewpoint. The Sharks flew around their side of the net consistently throughout the three sets, blocking Viewpoint scoring attempts, diving for balls and, in one early instance, rocketing over the net and into a Viewpoint player’s chest before it dribbled onto the gym floor for a score.
Saenz said Malibu played more aggressively against Viewpoint than in their season opener.
“It was a little cleaner,” he said. “We played with a little more confidence.”
Saenz, in this third year as Malibu’s boys’ and girls’ volleyball coach, isn’t the only voice the Sharks are hearing during practice this spring. The extra voice is a familiar one: former teammate George Roth. Roth’s senior season was canceled last spring because of the virus. Since he is home taking online college classes, the former standout player decided to become a volunteer assistant coach after Saenz reached out to him.
“This is kind of a redo season for him,” Saenz said of Roth. “He’s super excited. It’s been really nice having him in the gym and working with the guys.”
Last summer, fall and winter, members of the Sharks boys’ and girls’ teams spent a lot of time training at the beach and later on outside on school grounds. As a result, the boys’ squad has high hopes for the regular season, which concludes in mid-May.
The Sharks have a good team that can make good plays—the big kill or exciting block—but they haven’t refined the routine plays needed to win matches yet, according to their coach.
“That creates opportunities for other teams to get in the game,” Saenz said. “We aren’t great, and we won’t be until we can handle the efficacy side of our work. If we are doing that, we aren’t giving up points, and then we still make those great plays. Then, we put some heavy pressure on the other team.”
The rest of Malibu’s schedule is filled with league matches. They host Nordhoff on April 29 and Carpinteria on May 4. The Sharks play at Hueneme on May 6 and at Fillmore five days later. The regular season finale is on May 13 against Nordhoff.
After that, the group hopes they will compete in the CIF playoffs.
Saenz said the team wants to be playing its best volleyball by then—“We have our goals set really high.”
Quinonez said he and his teammates are ready to handle any challenge opposition throws their way, adding that making the playoffs is very important.
“I want my whole team to put all into achieving that goal,” he said.