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Volleyball 2006
Pre-Season Outlook: This year we have 4 returning players. Coming off a great 21-3 2005 season, Sarah Van Noy is our only returning starter. Sarah completed last season as an Honorable Mention All Central Valley Conference selection and has played at the highest community college level with last years’ team. We will rely on her experience to guide the 2006 season. Sarah is a 6’3" player out of Las Vegas High School, although her family makes their home right here in Kern County in the Tehachapi area.
We have a sophomore that has stepped into some huge shoes. Brittany Evans
will be replacing our All State outside hitter from last year, Kaena Apana who
is playing at Division I, East Tennessee State University. Brittany is currently
our best passer and she never stops trying to develop her passing skills.
Brittany is our most consistent all around player and will certainly have to
carry us with her passing. She always reminds me that there was a time that she
couldn’t pass at all. Those days are over. Brittany is a local Taft High School
graduate. Along the lines of passing comes Rayna Scudder. Rayna Scudder is a
returnee from McKinley High School in Honolulu, HI. Rayna is an extremely quick
athlete, quicker than she even realizes. She is very smooth and makes the skills
of volleyball look effortless. We are working very hard to get her passing to
perfection because I believe Rayna can be a libero player. We have very high
expectations for her and we believe that she must be able to pass the ball in
every play. Our next returnee that will have an impact on this team is middle
and outside hitter, Maua Manuma from Waipahu High School in Hawaii. I am excited
about Maua because I believe she also has great untapped potential. She has a
good reach, she jumps well and she has good passing form, we just need to bring
it all together. Maua is one of those players that smiles all the time, even
when she is being pushed very hard. Maua has a lot of work to do, but watch for
her, she has great potential and we will need the sophomore leadership to help
guide us this year.
We have 8 freshmen joining our team this year. One that should have a great impact on this team is Shannon Todd. Shannon is an outside, all around player from Las Vegas High School. She has the ability to be proficient at every skill. She is also a tremendous leader on and off the court. At this point we are anxiously waiting for Shannon to get healthy and return to the court. She has been diagnosed with Valley Fever and it is feared that it could be several weeks for her to return to action. Shannon would be replacing All NorCal outside hitter Pikake Nutter-Gaudet who also participated in softball here at Taft College. Pikake is currently playing softball for California State University, Bakersfield. Unfortunately, for us, we have another player that would have had a great impact but is out with Valley Fever. Her name is Krysten Adsuara. Krysten was recommended by Coach Kent Ma, who also was instrumental in the recommendation of Kaena Apana. Krysten is from Moanalua High School in Hawaii. Krysten was working to be our setter for this year. We can only hope that Krysten will get healthy very soon.
Darlene Medeiros is going to have a tough job to do this year. Darlene was recruited as a defensive specialist because we knew that we had a weakness in passing. I am so proud of what Darlene is doing. She has had to take over the setting responsibilities while Krysten is out. This leaves us vulnerable in the defensive passing area which is where Rayna is going to have to step in. Darlene works so hard. She will lay it on the line for every ball. Coaches could only wish for players with that kind of heart and drive. Darlene is from Campbell High School in Hawaii. Also from Campbell High School is Darlyn Livae. Darlyn will play outside hitter. We originally had her slated to play on the right side because she is an excellent blocker. This would mean that most of the time she would block the strongest hitter on their left side. Darlyn has to be versatile. Darlyn is stepping in for Shannon Todd as our left side hitter until Shannon is healthy enough to return.
A great asset for our team this year is Michelle Myers from Elsie Allen High School in Santa Rosa, CA. Michelle is a consistent all around player. She is very conscientious and takes time to think about what she is doing on the court. Once Michelle processes the information for herself, then she is able to perform it on the court. Michelle will primarily play middle blocker and middle hitter. On occasion Michelle will play right side, both in the front row and in the back row. On the right side we will also see Crystal Ducharm or "Tellie" as we know her. Tellie is a 5’11" freshman from Las Vegas High School. She was described as a very raw player which couldn’t be more truthful. Tellie has great potential that we are in the process of trying to develop. What she lacks in experience she makes up with desire. She is determined to be a volleyball player and I am determined to help her get there.
Another freshman is Vernadine Vickers from Nanakuli High School in Hawaii. Vernadine will be very busy. She is a volleyball and softball player so we will have an opportunity to watch her through both semesters. Vernadine will be playing defensive specialist, but she has an incredible vertical, so I know she will be thrown into the front row at some point in time. Our last freshman is a young lady who came to us late. She had a friend who is participating in women’s soccer and so she decided to come as well. Elizabeth Davis is from Porterville High School. It will take her a little bit of time to catch up, but I have no doubt that Elizabeth can make an impact on our team.
This year’s team has already had its share of ups and downs. From illness to injury to bad decisions, we will begin our season with only 7 players. We hope that through a positive learning process, we will have our team put back together very soon. This will set us back a bit, but challenges make us stronger. We are up for the challenge and will do the best we can to put together a competitive season. Go TC Volleyball!!!