Chanti Holroyd

City Beach takes 3rd in AAU 17 Open Division.

Chanti Holroyd and Hannah Turnland make All American Honors

Rivals Mountain View and Los Altos met in a CCS Division II girls volleyball quarterfinal Saturday night at the Eagles' nest. It was the fourth battle this season between the neighbors and it came with the biggest stakes: a berth in tomorrow's semifinals.
A packed house saw the seventh-seeded Spartans move toward an upset with a strong mid-first set burst that produced a five-point lead. However, the second-seeded Eagles settled down and utilized strong serving, an improved serve receive with pinpoint passing and a diversified offensive attack to rally to win the opening set and then cruise to a 25-21, 25-15, 25-13 sweep. Los Altos had also won the previous three contests with the Spartans.
"I thought we had a great game," said Los Altos' Carmen Annevelink, who had a game-high 20 kills. "Their coach had published they were looking to beat us and so we were ready. We were swinging hard."
Cal-bound Annevelink was complemented by Lulu Kishton with 15 kills and Megan Wilhelm with 10. Setter Joyce Christiansen-Salameh had 44 assists. Annevelink had 11 digs and libero Sarah Tritschler had 10. The 31-5 Eagles face third-seeded Presentation-San Jose tomorrow at Santa Clara High at 5:30 p.m. in the early semifinal match, with fifth-seeded Los Gatos and top-seeded Mitty-San Jose meeting in the nightcap at 7:30 p.m.
"We wanted to not take them lightly," said Kishton. "It's tough to win four times in a row. Joyce (Christiansen-Salameh) did really well; her sets were off the net so we could avoid being blocked."
"They were posting on me, so our setter was smart about it and moved the ball to Lulu and Megan," Annevelink said. "She kept them guessing."
Mountain View, ending its season at 19-13, was paced by Chanti Holroyd with 12 kills. Cynthia Moir had 17 assists and libero Sophie McEvoy contributed 9 digs.
"When they started serving tough and our serve receive went away, we became very ineffective," Mountain View coach Dave Winn said. "They (Los Altos) are very skilled and very well-coached. Credit them for putting us out of our serve receive."
The Spartans trailed 5-1 in the opening set when they rolled off nine straight points and electrified their half of the stands. Moir served two aces and Holroyd pounded back down a serve receive overpass. She added a kill, middle Emma Blockhus won a joust and freshman Eleonore Johansen banged a kill off the block.
"We were fearless and we served really tough and our energy was really high," Winn said.
Los Altos spent most of the set trying to close the gap, finally pulling even at 18-18. Kishton had four kills during that span, two on tight crosses.
The decisive sequence came at 19-19, as the Eagles scored the next four points. Kishton bashed a kill, Annevelink served a wicked twisting ace, Jenna Hoover blasted back down a serve receive overpass and the Spartans struggled with another Annevelink serve, passing into the net.
Maegan Nevalsky replied for Mountain View with a kill and a block, but Kishton closed the set with two powerful kills, raising her set total to eight, and Los Altos had a 25-21 win.
The Eagles jumped to a 10-3 lead in the second set, built it to 16-5 and withstood a mild rally that narrowed the margin to 19-13. A 6-2 run ended the set. Annevelink had seven kills in the set and Wilhelm provided strong support, scoring four kills on a variety of shots. The Eagles' defense was particularly sharp.
Mountain View fought back hard in the third set, leading 9-7 behind Holroyd, Nevalsky, Elyse Fitzsimmons and Blockhus. But the Eagles dialed it up and ran off a 10-1 charge, featuring four Annevelink kills, that put the set away.
"We imposed our will on them," said Los Altos coach Peter Kim. "Carmen, Megan and Lulu came through. They are tough for people to match up against. They were cheating over to block Carmen, so we set Megan and Lulu. We moved it around a lot more."
"I'm glad we got this one under our belt," Kim added. "We had a goal of winning league. We've wrapped that up. Now it's our next goal, get to the (CCS) finals."
Presentation was one of five WCAL opponents that Los Altos, SCVAL De Anza champion at 12-0, faced in non-league action. The Eagles won three of the five, but did lose to the Panthers in four sets back on Sept. 19. Mountain View finished fourth in SCVAL De Anza play with a 5-7 record.

The Los Altos High girls volleyball team looks more than ready for the playoffs. The Eagles haven’t suffered a loss in more than a month, dropping only two sets during their 16-match winning streak.

“The team is doing well,” said coach Peter Kim, whose squad is 7-0 in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division and 22-3 overall. “We are continuing to work hard and improving every day.”

Los Altos last week swept Gunn and Palo Alto to remain a game ahead of Homestead (6-1) in the league standings. Carmen Annevelink led the Eagles in both matches, notching 17 kills against Gunn and 20 versus Paly.

Gunn (3-4, 16-9) rebounded from the Oct. 14 loss by beating Monta Vista Thursday behind 15 kills from Los Altos Hills resident Meghan Mahoney.

Mountain View split a pair of De Anza Division matches last week, edging Paly in five games before getting swept by Homestead. Chanti Holroyd sparked the Spartans (3-4, 15-9) both days with 12 and 11 kills, respectively.

St. Francis lost its third straight match – in four sets to Mitty Thursday – to sink to 1-3 in the West Catholic Athletic League and 14-9 overall. Brigitte Canty tallied 13 kills for the Lancers.

Mehra den Braven recorded a season-high 35 kills in Pinewood’s five-set win at Crystal Springs Uplands Thursday. The Panthers improved to 3-2 in the West Bay Athletic League Skyline Division and 11-6 overall.

As we walked around the Orange County Convention Center on Monday, we took the time to note individual players going above and beyond.

Gaffers (Engineering the Set)

Ana Oglivie, Ku’Ikahi
Delilah Wolf, Northern Lights 17-2

City Planners (Great Blocks)

Gwyn Jones, KiVA
Archaeologists (What Digs!)

Allie Gregory, KiVA
Caroline Welsh, A5
Amanda Young, Nebraska Juniors

Sailors (Knows Attack)

Thayer Hall, Upward Stars
Chanti Holroyd, City Beach
Erica Kostelac, AVC
Maddie LeGrande, Illini Elite
Rachel Stark, Northern Lights

Jet Fighters (Lots of Aces)

Maggie Cvelbar, AVC
Alexa Turk, Maverick

Other 17 Open Notes…

In Pool 1, Rainbows libero Rika Okino made many heads up plays. A ball lost under the stands caused a several minutes delay in one of RRVC’s matches, which had the entire team looking for it.

Coastal Virginia went 1-2 in Pool 2 but the tandem of setter Taylor Dunn to middle Rowan Enniscontinued to work time and again.

Lauren Davis and Ginny Gerig are tiny setters for Illini Elite, but they varied the attack a lot and kept the middles involved in the team’s 3-0 day.

Kiana Peroff can score for Ku’Ikahi, but she made a full extension reaction dig in Game 3 versus KiVA that was remarkable.

Team Indiana’s 0-3 day did not prevent Carly Cason and Rachel Irbe from showing off their abilities to score.

Mikayla Shields is downright scary on the right for Tampa Bay 16O.

Nicole Dominguez had a good day for Top Select.

Mountain View High’s out-of-the-gate energy could last for only so long against rival and heavily favored Los Altos High Saturday night in the quarterfinals of the Central Coast Section Division II girls volleyball playoffs.

After the Spartans’ stellar start – they led 13-8 in the first set – the playoff-polished Eagles gradually took control of the match. Second-seeded Los Altos (31-5) rallied to take the first set 25-21 and cruised to double-digit wins in the next two games to advance to today’s semifinals.

“We knew that they were going to come out with a lot of energy and a lot of focus,” Eagles coach Peter Kim said of No. 7 Mountain View (19-13). “We just had to withstand that and play our match – and we did – which is good.”

The Spartans went on a 9-0 spurt early in the opening set to take a five-point lead, but Los Altos wouldn’t let the visitors create more distance than that.

Soon after Kim called timeout, the Eagles rallied behind outside hitters Carmen Annevelink (match-high 20 kills) and Lulu Kishton (15), aided by setter Joyce Christiansen-Salameh (44 assists). Annevelink’s cross-court kill cut the deficit to 13-9 and Kishton scored Los Altos’ next four points by spraying kills all over Mountain View’s side.

“Lulu was just swinging the whole time and getting kills on almost every single thing she went up on,” Cal-bound senior Annevelink said. “(The Spartans) were focusing on me the whole time, and our setter was really smart about it. She set me less, because there were less chances of me getting blocked, and she kept them guessing.”

The strategy kept working, and the Eagles regained the lead at 20-19 on a Kishton kill. It was the start of a four-point run featuring an ace from Annevelink.

Mountain View answered with two straight points before junior Kishton closed the door on the set with back-to-back kills.

“I don’t know what happened around 18-all, but all of a sudden we got tense and Los Altos’ serving got really tough,” Spartans coach Dave Winn said. “Once we lost that edge, I think it was hard to get it back.”

Los Altos jumped to a 6-2 advantage in the second set and led by as many as 11 points. While Annevelink and Kishton continued to hurt Mountain View – with the latter putting the set away with a cross-court kill – right-side hitter Megan Wilhelm did the most damage. The junior recorded five of her 10 kills – along with three aces – in the 25-15 victory.

“The difference-maker for them was Megan Wilhem,” Winn said. “Our game plan was to commit on their outsides. When Megan starts going off on us, we have no answer.”

The Spartans didn’t surrender, however. They went ahead 9-7 in the third set on a back-row kill from outside hitter Chanti Holroyd (team-high 13 kills).

The Eagles reacted with a devastating 10-1 run highlighted by Annevelink’s five kills and a block. She added two more kills before middle blocker Jenna Hoover put the finishing touches on the 25-13 victory with a pair of stellar plays at the net.

“We didn’t let up at the end of games – we pushed and closed,” Annevelink said. “We finished them in three (sets), and that was awesome.”

Los Altos, which beat Mountain View for the fourth time this year, next faces a team it hasn’t defeated. No. 3 Presentation (22-12) topped the host Eagles in four sets two months ago.

“We’ve grown quite a bit since then,” Kim said. “We were still learning one another. We’re playing better now.”

The semifinal match is slated 5:30 p.m. today at Santa Clara.

Mountain View traveled to Gunn-Palo Alto, sweeping the Titans 25-18, 26-24, 25-23 in a Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division girls volleyball match Tuesday evening.
The Spartans (10-7, 2-2 De Anza) had 14 kills from Chanti Holroyd and 13 kills from Maegan Nevalsky.
Mountain View coach Dave Winn had a good fill-in performance from Sophie McEvoy at middle blocker. McEvoy had six kills and three blocks.
"Our middle blocker suffered a concussion a couple of weeks ago," Winn said. "Sophie did a great job moving to the middle. Nevalsky had a great match, too."
The Titans (15-8, 2-3 De Anza) had 15 kills from Meghan Mahoney and seven kills from Jess Dinneen. Setter Nicole Brigham had 30 assists.
"We have been up and down all year," Winn said. "We played a solid match against Gunn."
The Spartans host league leader Los Altos on Thursday.
"We'll have to play a flawless match to beat Los Altos," Winn said.
-- John Reid

Chanti Holroyd has verbally committed to play sand volleyball at UCLA! Red Rock 16 Black’s 5’10 Outside Hitter will be competing as a Bruin in the fall of 2016. Congratulations to Chanti and her family! Chanti’s passion for sand started at a young age and continued to grow every year. Her determination and competitive nature both indoor and on the sand helped her develop invaluable all-around skills. We are so happy and proud of Chanti for achieving her dream to compete in sand at the collegiate level. 

We caught up with Chanti to find out more about her college commitment experience.

Was there anything that stood out about UCLA that made you choose them over others?

I was thrilled and grateful to have received offers from both UCLA and Pepperdine. Pepperdine is currently the #1 beach volleyball program in the nation so having their program offer me was very humbling. UCLA had been one of my dream schools for a long time. UCLA’s size, range in academic programs, location, and social mix personally were all better matches for me. 

How did you determine that you wanted to pursue sand volleyball in college as opposed to indoor?

Personally, the decision to play only beach in college wasn’t difficult at all. I love indoor volleyball, but my passion for beach is exponentially bigger. A huge part of why I fell in love is the lifestyle. You can just hang out on the beach with a few friends scrimmaging, tanning, and taking dips in the ocean. I also loved the independence of the sport. There is no hiding in beach. You have to be an expert in all areas of the game, unlike indoor where you can get by with mastering only a couple of skills. I love the challenge beach poses. I never feel like I’ve reached my fullest potential. There’s always room to improve.

Are you hoping to pursue professional sand volleyball one day?

I most definitely am going to pursue professional beach volleyball. I couldn’t be more impatient, anxious, or motivated to pursue a career in beach volleyball.

Are there any people that you would like to give a special thanks to as part of this accomplishment?

I cannot thank my parents enough for everything they have done for me! They have driven me to southern California (a seven hour drive) dozens of times so that I can compete and train with the best. They bring food and water to my tournaments, set up canopies, and cheer me on in all of my matches. They have been incredibly supportive throughout my whole career and I’m so unbelievably grateful to have them.

The volleyball season is just weeks old, and the Mountain View High girls have nearly equaled last year’s win total.

The Spartans entered Tuesday’s league opener with a 7-5 record; they went 8-22 last season and missed the Central Coast Section playoffs for the first time in 11 years.

“I’ve asked a lot of my team in terms of changing some of their habits and attention to detail,” said Dave Winn, who took over as coach this season. “They are making progress each week on their individual and team goals. Having good results on the court helps to reinforce that we’re focusing on the right things.”

Winn knows a thing or two about good results – he guided Palo Alto to a pair of state and CCS championships, along with seven Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division titles over the past eight years. Winn said he left Paly for Mountain View – in need of a coach after M. Anthony Chen resigned last spring – because he lives near the school.

Days after being hired in June, Winn said the Spartans “have a lot of potential” – and it hasn’t taken him long to help them realize it. Mountain View opened the season by going 2-3 at the Spikefest Tournament, beating Burlingame and Sacred Heart Prep – the latter in come-from-behind fashion – and nearly knocking off San Benito. The Spartans won their next three matches of the year in straight sets, then finished 2-2 at Saturday’s MVLA Tournament they co-hosted with Los Altos.

Mountain View’s five seniors – middle blocker Elyse Fitzsimons, outside hitters Maegan Nevalsky and Rosa Lutz, utility player Sophie McEvoy and libero Molly Dempsey – “have been making nice contributions so far,” Winn said.

Outside hitter Chanti Holroyd, a junior who took last season off to focus on sand volleyball, shares captain duties with Fitzsimons and Nevalsky.

“We are thrilled to have her back on the court,” Winn said of Holroyd, who posted 19 kills and 11 digs in Thursday’s sweep of Leland.

Starting setter Cynthia Moir, another junior, “has made a really nice transition from JV to varsity,” the coach said.

The roster includes two freshmen, with 6-foot Eleonore Johansen starting at opposite hitter.

“All of my other players have shown they can make contributions when called upon,” Winn said. “It’s a really fun team to coach, and I have big expectations for them this year.”