VISTA – Rancho Buena Vista girls volleyball coach Leanne DeBora says that with four sophomores and a freshman in her regular rotation, it can feel like watching a different team from match to match. It's safe to say Escondido didn't like the one that showed up Tuesday.
The Longhorns (11-4) jumped on the visiting Cougars early and never let up, finishing off the defending Valley League champs in less than an hour, 25-20, 25-14, 25-13.
“I would say 'ambushed' is a good word,” Escondido head coach Lori Becker said. “RBV was almost perfect, and when that happens, there's no room for error, and we definitely made our share of errors.”
From the opening point, everything seemed to work for RBV, including an offense that had more options than Escondido had answers. Senior Andrea Johnson finished with a team-high nine kills, but six different Longhorns had at least one kill, including the combination of sophomore Chloe Buckendahl and freshman Tori McRae, who accounted for a total of 12.
“I think our offense is a lot more balanced this year,” said Johnson, who added three blocks and a pair of service aces. “Our energy is kind of like a roller coaster; it goes up and down. We have the talent, obviously, it's just our mentality isn't there.”
Against Escondido, RBV looked like the total package and a team that could pull some surprises when the Avocado League season begins.
“We expect to have tough battles (in league), and we expect to play up to their level, too,” Johnson said. “It's all a learning experience.”
After bemoaning her team's uneven play at the recent La Jolla High Beach City Invitational, DeBora watched them get stronger as the match went on Tuesday, even as Escondido made matters easier with a number of unforced errors.
Senior Lindsey Brewer provided a rare bright spot on an otherwise dark evening for the Cougars, notching a match-high 11 kills to go with three blocks and five digs. Fellow senior Krystle Osby had four blocks.
“They found our weaknesses and we couldn't come up with anything to counteract that,” Becker said. “I'm hoping it was just a bad game, because we've played much better than that.”
As for the Longhorns, there's a quiet confidence hovering around “The Ranch” that 2008 could be a special year if the youngsters continue to progress. They're already seeing improvements over the team that reached the second round of the CIF playoffs last fall.
“We practice really hard (on defense),” Buckendahl said. “(DeBora) just drills balls at us. We've been working a lot on serve receive and passing. I think we're better this year.”
Despite all the potential, Carlsbad and Poway remain the overwhelming favorites in the Avocado League, not that you'll hear a whole lot of complaining from the Longhorns' camp.
“We kind of like to keep it that way,” Johnson said, “so we're the underdogs and we can sneak up and surprise everyone.”
The absence of championship expectations, Buckendahl said, might just make it easier to do more of what they did Tuesday.
“We're not worried about losing,” she said. “We're just playing to win.”
Zach Jones: (760) 752-6751;
zach.jones@tlnews.net
