DOWNEY - The Downey High School girls' volleyball team is the reigning C.I.F. Division 2A champion.The Lady Vikings finished last season with an overall record of 28-6, including an undefeated San Gabriel Valley League record of 10-0. After defeating Whittier Christian for the C.I.F. Division 2A title on November 19, the Lady Vikings played in two state tournament games. Downey defeated Madera on November 22 three sets to one, then fell to St. Lucy's three sets to one on November 26. The state tournament loss to St.Lucy's marked the end of a championship season for the Lady Vikings. According to maxpreps.com, the Lady Vikings are currently ranked number one in the C.I.F. Division 2A preseason poll, 13th in all of Division 2 and 26th in the C.I.F. Southern Section, respectively. The Lady Vikings are looking to reload on another successful season but must do so without All Southern Section Division 2A Player of the Year middle blocker Heather Schnars, who will be playing for the Bears at Central Arkansas University on a volleyball scholarship this Fall. The Lady Vikings do welcome back Makayla Taylor, Joy Miley, Michelle Barba, Kimberly Schnars and Rachel Rodriguez. A player who has also caught the attention of Coach Sims is Melody Burdette. The success of Coach Sims' and the Lady Vikings season will certainly rest on how quickly this team can gel together and compete at a high level. Coach Sims said that Warren, Paramount and Gahr will all provide tough competition due to the quality of athletes and coaching staffs each school has. The Lady Vikings will start their 2012-13 season at the Molten-Gahr Invitational. The Lady Vikings played their first game on August 30 against Millikan at Mayfair High School (score unavailable at press time). Los Alamitos is the number one seeded team going into this tournament which will conclude on September 5. Other local schools competing include: St. Joseph's, Moore league teams Lakewood and Millikan, Suburban league teams Cerritos and Mayfair and San Gabriel Valley League teams Downey, Gahr and Warren. Games will be held daily at the host sites of Gahr, Lakewood, Mayfair and St. Joseph's. This tournament will provide an early look as to the talent level each participating school has. The Lady Vikings will open league play on September 27th against Warren at home. This game against cross-town rival Warren will be the 3rd annual Dig Pink Breast Cancer Fundraiser.

********** Published: August 30, 2012 - Volume 11 - Issue 20