The Thousand Oaks girls volleyball team has tons of fun playing matches and an overall love for the sport, but when it comes to practices — head coach James Park is unsure of their attitude.
“I don’t know if they always like practices,” Park said with a smile. “We do a lot of fundamentals rather than playing game situations and stuff like that.”
Drilling the basics has created a disciplined team and bred confidence within the Lancers. Their self esteem took a big step forward when they swept Oaks Christian, 32-30, 25-16, 25-15, last week in their Marmonte League opener.
It was the Lions’ first loss in league play since 2019.
“They’ve always been the team that no one’s ever been able to beat,” Thousand Oaks middle blocker Madelyn Miller said. “They’ve always been the team to beat and that’s been our goal.”
Miller was a major component of the Lancers’ blocking against Oaks Christian and also served up two aces. Her blocking secured a 32-30 win after a marathon first set.
Park has heightened the emphasis on that aspect of Thousand Oaks’ game since the beginning of the season and now his players are seeing opposing blocks and pressing early.
“We definitely have some tall players, but we also have some players on the shorter side,” outside hitter Leah Curtin said. “But for the most part, our front row is dominant.”
Curtin is another Lancer who plays taller than her height. The junior, who also plays beach volleyball, recorded 13 kills in the sweep of Oaks Christian. She placed the ball with intention, hitting her mark each time she drove down a kill.
“She plays big but she’s not tall,” Park said. “That’s what she has learned to do. She plays against big blockers and then she’s been rolling shots, placing shots and that’s what she does well.”
Thousand Oaks is out to an 18-1 start this season and went 9-0 in the Chatsworth Tournament to win the Gold Division on Sept. 7 — another testament to their sound fundamentals — but it didn’t compare to the feeling of beating Oaks Christian.
“And the fact that we played really well together, it makes it all the better,” Park said.
Park planned to treat the team to Jamba Juice as a reward for their performance but the fundamental-driven practices will still remain. The target that was on Oaks Christian’s back has shifted to the Lancers and the team now has the confidence to deal with the pressure.
“We all have a lot of fun together,” Miller said. “We like to hang out inside the gym, outside the gym, during school and we just all love to play volleyball. That definitely helps our passion for it.”
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