Oak Park boys’ volleyball squad a solid contender for TVL, section banners

STAR POWER—Oak Park coach Patrick Quinn said outside hitter Christien McManus, above, may be the best player in the area. JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers Last year’s Oak Park High boys’ volleyball team won 30 matches and advanced to the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 championship before losing to Norco in four tough games.

According to head coach Patrick Quinn and his players, this season’s Eagle squad has the talent and determination to return to the section final and finish the job.

Six varsity members, including four starters, are back for OPHS, which was ranked No. 2 behind Norco in the latest CIFSS Division 3 coaches’ poll.

The Eagles are 4-1 overall, 1-0 in the TVL, heading into tonight’s home match against Malibu.

“All the pieces to the puzzle are here with this team to be really good,” said Quinn, who’s led Oak Park to back-to-back undefeated seasons in the TriValley League.

Returning from last year’s squad are libero Bradley Sakaida, setter Zach Moskowitz, middle blocker Michael Shea, defensive specialist John Kramer, outside hitter Ethan Jacobs and outside hitter Christien McManus.

Sakaida, Moskowitz, Shea and McManus are all starting and, in a sense, in charge of carrying on the Eagles’ winning tradition.

“There’s definitely a lot of pressure to perform,” said McManus, a senior and threeyear varsity player. “I don’t want this year to be the worst out of the last few years.”

Quinn raves about McManus’ skill set on the court.

“He’s the best player I’ve seen this year so far,” the coach said. “He’s playing absolutely terrific.”

McManus and Shea are the co-captains, with Shea, a 6-foot-2 senior, serving as the more vocal of the two leaders.

“Christien’s our floor captain,” Shea said. “He’s in charge of talking to the refs and stuff like that. I’m the guy who gets everyone pumped up for the games. I’ve got to fire everyone up.”

Sakaida, the 15-year-old standout sophomore libero, has made major strides since his freshman campaign, when he was thrust into a starting role straight out of middle school.

“I’m used to the varsity speed now and know what to expect,” Sakaida said. “It’s much more relaxing for me this year.”

Four other starting options for OPHS—outside hitter Justin Parks, opposite Peter Massey, middle blocker Matt Woo and setter/opposite Sam Saltman—are up-and-coming young sophomores with tons of potential.

Massey, who stands 6-foot-5, has only been playing competitive volleyball for a short amount of time. Quinn said Massey’s skills remain raw but his ceiling is immense.

“All Massey has to do is develop a faster arm swing,” Quinn said. “He hits really high and he’s left-handed, but he just hasn’t played a lot of volleyball. He’s only been doing it since November, and he’s getting better all the time.”

Sophomore middle blocker Jake Rice and junior outside hitter Nathan Aggarwal provide the Eagles with the most depth they’ve had in years.

“I’m very excited about the possibilities with this team,” Quinn said. “Even though we’re young, we’re still pretty solid.”