APTOS >> This isn’t the Kelsey Shaver show anymore.
Shaver, a Harbor High graduate, embodied the success of the Cabrillo College women’s volleyball team the past two seasons. In 2013, when the Seahawks became the first Northern California team to win the California Community Colleges Athletic Association state title, Shaver set the CCCAA record for most kills in a state tournament match (31) and went on to be named tournament MVP. In 2014, when the Seahawks fell one match short of defending their title, Shaver earned AVCA All-American honors and was considered the regular-season MVP of Northern California.
Alas, Shaver had to move on (signing with West Texas A&M, an NCAA Division II team) — and she wasn’t the only one. The Seahawks (10-1) return just four of their 14 players from last year’s team and just one starter: sophomore middle Patrice Williams.
With 11 freshmen filing into the gym this summer for practice, even fifth-year coach Gabby Houston-Neville could hardly recognize her squad.
“What is Cabrillo going to look like?” she asked. “That’s what everybody wants to know.”
By the end of the season, she hopes she can answer, “Like a champion.”
That’s the expectation of Amber Bothman. The freshman middle blocker planned to be done with volleyball upon graduating from Scotts Valley High, but she was wooed to Cabrillo by Houston-Neville and the allure of playing for a team that has, and possibly could again, win a state title.
“I wasn’t ready to give it up. I wanted to come back and play for a good team,” Bothman said after the Seahawks’ home-opening victory over De Anza on Sept. 28. “I think state is fully within our grasp.”
Many of the newcomers packed that expectation in with their sheets and shower caddies when they moved into rooms and apartments near the campus at the start of the school year. And why not? At the time, Cabrillo was ranked No. 1 in NorCal and No. 2 in the state behind 2014 champion Irvine Valley.
Then came the Seahawks’ first tournament, and their first loss, a sweep by Foothill that ended a streak of regular-season victories that extended back to 2012. It also sent Cabrillo plummeting in the CCCAA standings to No. 9 in the state and No. 3 in NorCal.
Houston-Neville said that could be expected from a team full of young players who, in addition to trying to learn the Seahawks’ system and the commitment it takes to win a state title, were dealing with typical freshman freakouts over moving away from home and attending college for the first time.
The team managed to regroup quickly enough to keep from losing any other matches. And when Foothill came to their home court last weekend, the players showed how far they’d come in just a few weeks. On Saturday, they toppled the Owls in five hard-fought games, earning a leap up to No. 3 in the state and No. 2 in NorCal in Monday’s CCCAA poll.
“We are feeling a lot better about how we’re playing,” Houston-Neville said after the match. “We’re moving forward now. Before, we were working things out. Now, we’re like ‘OK!’ We’re feeling so much better about our play now.”
It’s good timing for the Seahawks, who begin Coast Conference North play Oct. 14 when they host Hartnell. Cabrillo’s conference performance will determine its position in the NorCal tournament. If it wins its NorCal bracket, it can advance to the four-team state finals for the third straight year.
While Cabrillo can blame its early struggles on its youth, Williams, the returning 6-foot middle out of Harbor High, said that may also be the key to its success down the line. She said in part because most of the players on this year’s team are the same age, it already has an advantage over the 2014 version.
“We came in with a lot of really good, raw talent. And something that hadn’t happened last year that happened this year was that we just clicked,” she said. “Every new person felt like they have such a big part of this team and in making things work. Now we’re just jelling so well. Drills we were struggling with early in the season are nothing now. It feels really good.”
As the sole returning starter, Williams, who leads the team in blocks with 26, is naturally one of the team’s leaders on the court. She’s gotten some help in that role from Chilean transfer Marcela Frazzoni, the team captain and its kill leader with an average of 3.18 per set. Natalie Picone, a 5-4 freshman out of Valley Christian, also plays outside hitter and has fit right into the shadow of diminutive former Aptos and Cabrillo player Nikki Miyashita. Eden Fukushima of Benicia will replace Tyler Gasaloga, now playing for Waylan Baptist, at setter. Alyssa Nelson of Fresno is leading the team in digs and Bothman is second in blocks (22).
None of the starters is named Shaver, and that’s OK.
“They’re building their own success. They don’t want to ride on the coattails of the other teams,” Houston-Neville said. “But the real success is going to come when we grow as a team. We’re not near our potential. Individual growth is going to be huge for this team.”
What is Cabrillo going to look like this season? Houston-Neville can’t wait to find out.
