OCHS continues its domination
Lion boys' volleyball team ranked No. 1 in Division IV
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers POWERFUL BLAST- Oaks Christian's Dominic Denham, right, hammers a ball past Ryan Schiedermayer during practice.

A year after winning the CIFSouthern Section Division IV championship, the Oaks Christian boys' volleyball team has shown no signs of a letdown.

Although last year's top players Alex Walker and Brendan Skinner are gone after graduating, the Lions began the season ranked No. 1 in their division.

OCHS has responded well to the pressure of being a top team by winning its first three games in the TriValley League, including a victory over rival Oak Park High last week.

Oak Park is ranked No. 5 in the latest Division IV poll.

"When we lost two of our starters from last year in Alex and Brendan, we lost two of our best hitters and we lost a lot of our height," Oaks Christian head coach George Hees said. "But I think what we lost in height, we've made up for in talent gained. Last year we relied more on our offense, but now I believe we are a more talented team all-around."

Senior captain and setter Ryan Schiedermayer believes playoff experience will be one of the key factors that should help the Lions for the remainder of the year.

"This team has a better understanding of the game and each other," Schiedermayer said. "This team is made up mostly of juniors that have known each other for a long time. I think this helps us on the court because we all know each other's tendencies and where each of our hitters likes to be set up."

Hees said he expects big things from Schiedermayer, a first-year team captain.

"Last season Ryan had a lot of great players around him, and he seemed to be the right piece of the puzzle to go with them," Hees said. "This year I am looking for him to be more of a leader, which he has absolutely been great at this year. He's very levelheaded and is one of the hardest working players on the team."

Schiedermayer said that even though he is a cocaptain with junior Paul Peterson, those two are by no means the only players worthy of leading the Lions.

"Being a captain is not necessarily something that I wanted, but I do realize that seniors are generally asked to be more of a leader on the team," Schiedermayer said.

"Even though I'm a captain, I don't see myself as any better than other people on the team. I think it's more of a leadership by committee this season, as we have many players that can contribute in any game."

One Lion who's been playing well is junior Dominic Denham. Denham has been on the varsity team all three years he's attended Oaks Christian.

"He is a very motivated player and is one of the more explosive players on the team," Hees said regarding Denham.

Other returning players that continue to be factors for OCHS include Peterson and junior Blake Fol. Peterson plays outside hitter while Fol sets up primarily on the right side of the court.

"Paul is another one of our three-year varsity juniors, and over the years he has become a more consistent player," Hees said. "He is very good at being in control and is a great fundamental player."

Two new players to the team that Hees has been impressed with are sophomore Oliver Macpherson and junior Kevin Cochran, who was on the team in 2006 but had limited playing time. Hees said that both players help considerably on defense.

Although the team is in the top position in the rankings, the Lions rarely discuss their place in the polls.

"The No. 1 ranking definitely helps when we make the playoffs, but that's about it," Denham said. "We know there's a lot of pressure on us to do well, and it would be a little bit of a disappointment if we didn't win the championship again, but that's something our coach helps us a lot with."

Schiedermayer agreed with his teammate.

"The No. 1 ranking is in the back of everyone's mind, but our coach does a great job of motivating us each and every game," Schiedermayer said.

"The experience of us winning the championship last year might help us in the long run, but right now we are trying to not look past any opponent. We need to always keep our energy up and play it one game and one point at a time."

Oaks Christian continues its pursuit to repeat as champions when they battle Grace Brethren tonight at home. Game time is set for 6 p.m.