By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor Otto Lacayo and his club team from the San Gabriel Elite Volleyball Club felt a mile high this weekend. Lacayo, the Westridge volleyball coach, and the Pasadena Sports Now Coach of the Year, led a roster of talented girls from the San Gabriel Valley to Denver this past weekend. The […]
By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor
Otto Lacayo and his club team from the San Gabriel Elite Volleyball Club felt a mile high this weekend.
Lacayo, the Westridge volleyball coach, and the Pasadena Sports Now Coach of the Year, led a roster of talented girls from the San Gabriel Valley to Denver this past weekend.
The (16-and-under) team, called ’16 Roshambo,’ features Westridge’s Krystal Raymundo, La Salle’s Sofia Sanchez and Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy’s Megan Lund and Colleen Clapp.
SG Elite went 10-0 and qualified for the Junior Olympics in the Open Division, which takes place in Minneapolis in June.
They trailed Kansas City, 11-6, in the third and deciding set, but they rallied and earned the tournament title, 15-12.
They did all this, despite competition from a 50-plus team field that represented programs throughout the United States.
Simone Dominique led the way with a team-best 86 kills, and Sofia Sanchez added 73 kills and a team-high 19 aces.
Krystal Raymundo, who played for the Prep League champs at Westridge had a team-high 74 digs, and Megan Lund, cousin of FSHA four-time All-American Kayla Lund, added 19 digs.
SG Elite will be ranked nationally in the Top-5 when the rankings come out shortly, and they will be back in action this weekend in San Diego.
They will compete in Southern California League play
“They played at the highest level and I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Lacayo said. “You’re playing against kids who are going to do great things in college. The kids on our side responded well to adversity.”
** Also in Colorado was the ’17 Elite’ from the same club, and coached by Westridge assistant Jezreel Nueve.
They earned the ‘Silver’ after going 9-1 and qualified for the Junior National Championships.
Sophia Anderson (La Salle), Maddie Pernecky and Emily Smith both represent Flintridge Sacred Heart and Poly’s Halston Harper all play for the 17 Elite.
