Volleyball Teams Reach for Heights

While one team tries to climb back to high altitude, another team is already there.

At the boys’ volleyball Junior National Championships, which begin today in Denver, the Los Angeles Athletic Club is attempting to recapture the poise and performance that helped it win the 18-year-old division title last year.

An injury to Mark Williams, the nation’s top recruit, and a last-minute coaching switch leaves L.A. Athletic Club, which features six players from the region, with some questions.

Then there’s the Seaside Volleyball Club, stocked with recent Buena High graduate Matt Prosser, nine standouts from the San Diego area and Tim Jenson, a Utah native bound for University of the Pacific.

Staying at Jenson’s home, Seaside practiced three days this week in Salt Lake City to prepare for the altitude in Denver.

“We have a pretty good chance,” said the 6-foot-7 Prosser, who will attend Long Beach State. “So we need to take it seriously.”

When the teams met at the recent Southern California Volleyball Assn. tournament, Seaside swept L.A. Athletic en route to the title.

But L.A. Athletic has since added Cal State Northridge Coach John Price on an interim basis.

Hoover High’s Nick Marbach and Harvard-Westlake’s Trevor Julian are key players for L.A. Athletic, which will be without the UCLA-bound Williams because of a broken ankle.

“There’s not one dominant team like there was last year,” said Julian, who is headed for USC.

The Northridge Juniors could also could be a factor in the championships, which conclude Tuesday.

Coached by Cal State Northridge assistant Jeff Campbell, the Juniors are led by Times’ all-region selections John Baxter and Ryan Denihan of Royal, Chris Wilson of Chatsworth and John Penfield of Thousand Oaks.