Team overcomes fire disruptions to secure victory in irvine
The Malibu Volleyball Club’s 16U girls squad won their division at the Southern California Volleyball Association’s Event 1 tournament at the Momentous Sports Complex in Irvine last month.
The team of Malibuites strung together a 3-0 record at the Jan. 18-20 volleyball spectacle despite not practicing since early January due to the Palisades fire.
Malibu Volleyball Club operator and coach Derek Saenz said the girls, a group of knowledgeable and skilled volleyball players, wanted to compete in the SCVA event, which featured volleyball clubs from across Southern California.
Middle blocker Mayeeda Wang, a 10th-grader, said it felt remarkable to be on the volleyball court with her teammates again.
“Of course, winning the tournament felt great, but being a team again after such devastating times was an amazing way to overcome the challenges we all faced together,” she said.
The devasting Palisades blaze, which sparked on Jan. 7, charred 23,400 acres and destroyed more than 6,800 structures, including homes in Pacific Palisades and Malibu. The inferno’s destructive, wind-fueled spread put a stop to sports activities in Malibu.
On Jan. 11, members of the some of the volleyball club’s boys and girls teams participated in a scrimmage in Carson. The next day, they played in an event at Long Beach State.
The next weekend, the team coached by Liam Moore, a former Malibu High boys volleyball standout, won its group at the SCVA event.
Evelyn Garvin, a sophomore on the squad, said the team was confident despite not practicing before the tournament and that their confidence grew each game.
“We stayed positive and decided we shouldn’t give up,” she said. “We wanted to be together again to just play volleyball.”
Wang, a volleyball player of two years, said the teenagers’ excitement in being able to compete together fueled their winning play.
“We were collected,” she said. “We played together. I knew we were playing well when we won our second game.”
Saenz said participating in events allowed the volleyball club’s members, some who lost their homes to the wildfire, to take their mind off stress they have off the volleyball court.
“It comes up, it comes up,” Saenz said of the team discussing the impact of the fire.
He noted that playing volleyball was so important to one player that the player packed volleyball gear when evacuating to ensure participation in club tournaments.
“The kids really wanted to play,” Saenz added.
Garvin said winning the tournament was secondary.
“I originally didn’t arrive with the mindset of winning everything,” she said. “It was just something good that came along with playing with my team and getting to reconnect both on and off the court. It felt great to see my team again.”
