DOWNEY – After getting a quick jump in the preseason with some early success, the Downey girls volleyball team, which started off with a 5-2 start, fell to visiting Schurr in straight sets, 25-23, 25-21, 25-15 Tuesday afternoon (August 30).

The Vikings rebounded the next day with a 3-0 win over host Pacifica in non-league action to improve to 6-3 overall.

Results of the Thursday (Sept. 1) match at La Serna were not available at press time.

Before their first home crowd of the season, the Vikings (5-3) hung tough with Schurr (9-1) in the first two sets, but lost by 10 points in the third.

Downey lost to Schurr last year in the second round of the CIF-SS D5 playoffs.

“We played (Schurr) a lot in the summer and they’re a solid team,” Downey first-year coach Shawn Patchell said. “Good setter, good position player. We’re close. We just got to make sure the confidence stays up.”

The Vikings, who just came off a loss to CIF-DI, Laguna Beach, Saturday (August 27) are building off of last years’ success, as they won the San Gabriel League with a perfect 10-0 record. Overall, the Vikings finished at 25-7 in longtime volleyball coach Bob McCarthy’s last season before retirement. Patchell previously coached for many years at Laguna Beach.

Downey will go down as the last SGV Champs, as a formation of a new conference begins this year.

The Suburban League, which dates back years, will become the Suburban Conference, which will be divided into two leagues. Downey will play in the Gateway League.

After the retirement of McCarthy last year, the Viking program was fortunate to hire a longtime coach with a wealth of knowledge like Patchell this past summer.

Patchell, who recently coached at Long Island University and previously at Concordia of Irvine, for eight years, has won over his new team.

“When I heard of him, I actually googled his name and saw that he played before and obviously knows what he is doing and was at universities and colleges and he knows the big stuff,” Downey senior middle blocker Anet Morales said. “Ok, this is good. We met him at our first game at summer league.

“I was very excited and knew that we were handed a very good coach from McCarthy, so we were in good hands.”

With the loss to CIF DI Laguna Hills on Saturday, the team learned a lot from an upper division team.

Morales said: “We learned so much and there’s still a lot of communication that needs to be done. We have little mistakes that we need to improve on. We saw the difference between both levels and how efficient they were. We’re still trying to adjust to a new environment.”

Morales was referring to the number of new players from a team that lost 10 seniors last year to graduation.

This years’ team is balanced with seven seniors, four juniors and four sophomores.

Downey won a tourney with three wins to start the season.

The experienced Schurr team might have had a slight advantage over Downey, but the Vikings gave them a run for their money in two of the three sets.

The first set saw the Vikings get in a quick, 6-2 hole, and trailed by as much as seven points, 14-7, before they mounted a comeback.

Sophomore outside hitter Yaretzi Silva, who had a match-high 17 kills, started the comeback with a big kill to trail, 14-8, followed by a service ace from senior setter Aryanna Martinez (30 A), a kill by senior opposite Janay Robertson and a ball hit long by Schurr. That made the score, Schurr 15, Downey 10.

The Vikings came all the way back and two consecutive kills by Robertson brought them within a point, 24-23.

On an attempted kill by Downey into the net, that ended the comeback and the Spartans took the first set, 25-23.

Schurr had a balanced attack from three players, all with double digit kills – Karina Talavera (13K), Jasmine Soto (12K) and Victoria Murillo (10K). Leading the way with assists was Leeya Rubio with 24 and Soto added 11.

Photos by Jaime Diaz

“It (comeback) did a lot for us, because it gave us at least some energy, because going into this we were really nervous,” Robertson said. “Towards the end, we could see, ‘oh ya, we can actually get points on them. It’s not impossible.”

“You want to close it out and it’s also important in the beginning,” Robertson added.

Patchell was proud of his team for playing close.

“We played with a lot of heart,” he said. “These girls, I think they just get a little nervous. It’s our first home match and I wanted to play a home match in August and we got it out of the way and I think we didn’t win any mini games to five (points). Once we start winning the mini game to five, we’ll be rolling.

“We passed a lot better to finish, which was good, but we want to start a little better.”

Patchell had high praise for his sophomore, (Silva).

“Ya, she’s learning the game and she’s going to be very, very good,” he said. “We need her to do a lot of stuff. Most sophomores only have to do one or two skills, but we’re asking her to be a very skilled player right now. She’s coming along nicely.”

Junior outside hitter Rebeca Marquez, who is a captain along with senior libero Bailey Aguilar, had 10 kills in the game for the Vikings.

“(Marquez) was a libero last year,” Patchell said. “Now, playing the front row is a big responsibility for her, she gets it done and she’s going to be a very player for us. She’s a very good defensive player and she passes very well. It’s fun to have her.”

In the second set, the Vikings got into another quick, 6-0, hole but came all the way back again and tied the set, 15-15, on an ace by Aguilar.

The late-set comeback continued with only a two-point deficit, 23-21, after a big kill by Silva. But, the Spartans won the next two points to put Downey into a 2-0 hole in the match.

For the third straight set, the Vikings found themselves in that same early-set hole, trailing by as much as 13-3.

However, here they came again with another mini comeback highlighted by three consecutive kills from Silva (2K) and Robertson (K) brought them within three points, 13-10.

Multiple errors in the late stages of the set put the Vikings 10 points down, 23-13, and they defending Almont League Champions came away with the match before a nearly packed gym at Downey.

What they said:

Bailey Aguilar, senior libero: “I consider Schurr a rival. Their coach (Jorge Ortiz) is my uncle.

“When we started our camps in the summer it was completely different with coach Patchell. His past teams were way better than us and for him to come here and give us as much work as his other teams. He pushes us way more harder than in past years.”

Rebeca Marquez, junior OH: “It came with a lot more adjustments and we had to adjust to more higher standards. (Patchell) comes from a high level of coaching.

“Playing the higher-level teams was a good experience. It was a good way to see our strengths and weaknesses. It was a learning experience. (Tournament champions) it felt good and having this new team and the chemistry throughout is complete.”

Yaretzi Silva, sophomore OH: “It’s very exciting and a new experience and his coaching method is a little different. I like the opportunity that we’re getting to play with a coach of his credentials. I feel like he’s taught me so many more things and correcting things that I didn’t even think to correct.

“I feel like play a team like Laguna Beach is better competition and it just helps us get ready for the next match.

“As a team I feel like we are getting our chemistry together and we’ve been playing pretty good.”

Jorge Ortiz, Schurr Volleyball coach: (Note: Ortiz is the uncle of Downey’s Bailey Aguilar.) “She’s a special girl. I’ve seen her grow up. She has a lot of passion for the sport. I love her work ethic. She’s a great athlete.

“It’s kind of neat to see the girls, who know each other from the club areas.

“We have a lot of respect for Downey. They have a lot of respect for what they do here as a program.”

 Patchell is assisted by Chris Hahn, Matthew Lostetter, Matthew Borlongan and Richard Silva.