Deer Valley boys volleyball team stays unbeaten through 118 league matches, wins 9th straight title, beats De La Salle for NCS Championship
Deer Valley’s Jacob Evans and Jacob Brannon attempt to block the spike of a Heritage player during the match on Friday, May 15, 2015. By Cathie Lawrence
Face De La Salle for the NCS Championship, tonight
By Luke Johnson
2006.
That number represents the year in which Deer Valley High School boys’ volleyball last lost a match to a Bay Valley Athletic League opponent. The Wolverines would go undefeated 118 matches later, win nine consecutive BVAL Pennants and two North Coast Section Championships.
The team who beat Deer Valley in 2006 is not even in the BVAL anymore, and that’s De La Salle. The Wolverines have not even lost a single set in the past five years; a streak that has expanded to 143 sets.
Head Coach Lou Panzella said the reason behind his great success is because he has been blessed with great players such as Jason Agopian, Noah Lebonte, Marcus Lee and Derrico Kwa. Today the team is led by a quad of seniors: Jordan Ewert, Jared Stark, Jacob Evans and Jacob Brannon; all of which have received All-BVAL honors.
“One of the most different things [about this season] is that this time I’m a senior, and instead of having all these people to look up to, there are a couple people looking up to me, which is kind of a strange feeling,” Stark said. “Playing [on varsity] as a freshman, I always had these really big players on the team to look up to, and now I kinda have to hold my own and show that I am someone to look up to.”
Outside of high school, Ewert is a National and World Champion. He signed his letter of intent to play for Stanford University in November, and is on the verge of becoming the first player with 2,000 career kills at Deer Valley (currently at 1,934).
The Wolverines (38-1) beat East Bay rival De La Salle (25-5), Saturday, May 23 in the NCS Championship match, 3-1 giving Deer Valley its third straight title.
the attachments to this post:
Heritage vs. Deer Valley Volleyball 05-15-15
