Volleyball

As the men’s volleyball season progresses, it is awesome to see the number of local players competing.

Men’s volleyball possesses an interesting dynamic because there are only so many college opportunities. Plus the number of young men playing the game continues to grow.

The Division I college programs are jammed with talented players, while junior college teams are just as crowded.

Orange Coast College and Coach Travis Turner had over 50 men try out vying for 16 spots on the roster this season.

The level of play on the next level is deeper than ever with regard to locals.

Some have ventured east to play such as Brad McCoy, out of Corona del Mar High, who is at Penn State. The Nittany Lions are among the top teams in the nation and their women’s team is not too shabby, as it won its third straight NCAA national championship.

Kyle Lawrence, a former Newport Harbor setter, is a freshman at Ohio State, where he joins former Orange Coast College middle blocker Mike Stewart. It is quite an honor to compete at these top-notch athletic institutions.

McCoy is one of two players from west of the Mississippi on the roster, which includes two Puerto Ricans and a player from Brazil.

The conference with all the top California teams (plus BYU and Hawaii) is the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The MPSF usually has nearly all of the top-10 ranked teams in the nation.

Penn State is ranked No. 6 and the only non-MPSF team in the top 10.

The majority of local players opted to play in California. Gus Ellis, out of CdM, is the starting middle blocker at Stanford, while Newport grad Tucker Peleuses and CdM alum Jeff Carlson are in the program at USC, the top-ranked team that won at UC Irvine in five games Friday night.

At UC San Diego, former CdM setter Phil Bannan runs the show with former Newport Harbor libero Andrew Kaban making quite a name for himself with his serving and digging.

UCLA has plenty of local players. Brett Perrine, out of Newport Harbor, starts his final season as a starting middle blocker (it seems like he has been there for years). Wes Dunlap and Kyle Caldwell, both also former Newport Harbor standouts, are also major players for the Bruins. Caldwell is being used primarily as a setter (6-foot-8 and left-handed, pretty lethal).

Connor Bannan, a former Sea King, is on the team and battling to get on the right side of the famed Bruin curtain. It will be fun to watch the parents, Jean and Jim Bannan, when UCLA plays against UCSD twice this season.

At UCSB, there are quite a few of Coach Steve Conti’s former Sea Kings.

Outside hitter Blaine Nielsen, as well as middle blockers Scott Slaughter and Dylan Davis, all are on the court. Former Newport hitter Mark Liebermann has opted to concentrate on his studies at Santa Barbara.

With the abundance of outstanding volleyball players from the Newport-Mesa area, it seems that many have achieved success at the libero position.

The libero, for those old-time volleyball players, is a permanent back-row player whose main responsibility is passing and digging. A new rule now allows the libero to serve for one position player which adds even another valuable tool for the “little guy.”

At UCI, Kevin Welch, who starred at CdM and OCC, has emerged from a battle with five other libero candidates to fill that position for the Anteaters, the defending national champions who are ranked No. 3.

UCI took out No. 7-ranked Pepperdine in four games Wednesday. The Waves have former Newport Harbor phenom Sean Grubbs, who is starting his third season as their major ball-control player. Grubbs was an outstanding player for Coach Dan Glenn’s Sailors.

Friday night at UCI, the Trojans featured a well-known volleyball name, Tony Ciarelli. He’s a major player for the Trojans and very exciting to watch. USC’s libero is former OCC libero Andrew Pizula.

With the boys’ high school season approaching, some players have committed to college programs.

Newport Harbor’s Connor Curry will take his back-court skills to Penn State. CdM’s Weston Nielsen will follow his brother, Blaine, to UCSB. Joey Booth from CdM will play at USC.

It will be exciting to watch as they develop.