Double trouble

LEADERS-Cathy Quilico, left, and Alex Johnson are both fouryear varsity players for the Westlake girls' volleyball team. They look nothing alike, yet the similarities are striking.

Westlake High's Alex Johnson is a 6-foot-1 blonde-haired outside hitter who dominates opponents at the net. Her teammate, 5-foot-1 Cathy Quilico, is the petite brunet who drives opposing teams mad with her ability to dig almost any ball that approaches the Warriors' backline.

While their outward appearances may differ, Johnson and Quilico parallel each other from a talent perspective, so much so, in fact, that each has already earned a college volleyball scholarship-Quilico to Penn State and Johnson to Cal State Northridge.

As four-year varsity players at Westlake, the two 17-year-olds are the unquestioned heart and soul of a Warrior squad that posted 22 victories last year and advanced to the quarterfinals of the CIF-SS playoffs.

This season, Quilico and Johnson will serve as co-captains, positions of leadership which were easy for WHS head coach Ernest Rittenhouse to delegate.

"Alex is our go-to hitter," Rittenhouse said. "Cathy's responsibility is huge for us in terms of her serve-receive, and she's in the back row all the time digging up the balls. They do a tremendous job for us. It's a great advantage to have them both on the floor."

Johnson, last year's Marmonte League leader with 322 kills, prides herself in being an emotional player. When she's yelling, pounding the floor and pumping up her teammates, that's when she's at her best.

"When I get out on the court, I don't know, it just comes from inside of me," Johnson said. "It helps me play better. Being louder, being more aggressive, it just really helps my game. When I'm passive and quiet, that hurts me. I have to keep myself fired up at all times. I think it helps the team a tiny bit, too."

Rittenhouse said there's no doubt Johnson's an intense player, but her emotions are always projected in a way that helps others play better, rather than bring them down.

"It's very positive energy," the coach said. "You've got to be careful sometimes when using the term 'fiery' or an 'emotional-type' athlete. She is competitive and she is a fiery competitor, but it's all done in a very positive way.

"You never see her get down on teammates because they made a mistake. You don't see her get angry with a teammate,' Rittenhouse said. "She uses encouragement, constant encouragement, and she does so on purpose to keep the momentum of the game on our side."

Quilico, the team's libero who finished second in the league in digs (349) and assists (359) last season, also plays with her heart on her sleeve, although she generally projects her emotions inward, Rittenhouse said.

"Cathy's also a very fiery type of player," he said. "Sometimes you'll see her getting angry at herself, but again, it's always a positive energy that's done with the mindset that the team will do better."

Like many teammates who've competed together year after year, Quilico and Johnson share an oncourt chemistry which isn't easily explained, but is ever-present.

"Whenever I pass next to her, I always feel comfortable she's going to be there, so I don't have to jump in front of anybody or anything," Johnson said. "I know she'll get the ball every time."

The feeling's mutual, Quilico said.

"We do much better when we're next to each other," Quilico said. "We're both really good passers, and that helps the team."

While each player has accomplished a lot on both an individual and team level, there's still one team goal that's eluded Westlake in recent years: a Marmonte League championship.

As the regular season approaches, capturing a league title remains at the top of the girls' priority list.

"I think we have a good chance at winning the Marmonte, for sure," Quilico said. "We've got a lot of seniors with experi

ence coming back. I'm not really setting personal goals this year, I just play to win."