Highland Has a Clone at Middle Blocker

If Ryan Millar stopped by his alma mater during a recent swing through Southern California, he’d have seen a player who resembles him.

It’s premature to call Trent Sorensen of Highland High the second coming of Millar, who was the NCAA player of the year at BYU in 1997 and is a prominent member of the U.S. national team.

But Sorensen, who has become one of the top juniors in the region, shares more with Millar than the Mormon religion and a common high school.

Sorensen plays middle blocker, the same position as Millar, and is 6 feet 6, one inch shorter than Millar.

He also owns a similar competitive fire.

“It’s the attitude, the little personality things that sometimes look the same,” said Coach Tom Jones of Highland. “He was real quiet last year, but he’s starting to take on those little leadership roles as he’s gained confidence. He’s more than a body. He’s showing some attitude out there.”

One more parallel: Sorensen hopes to attend Brigham Young.

In the meantime, he has helped stake Highland (7-0, 5-0 in Golden League play) to an unblemished beginning.

His attack from the middle is strong and he is surprisingly agile on defense, recording 12 digs in a sweep last week of league rival Quartz Hill.

Not bad for a guy who doesn’t play club volleyball. Sorensen was approached to play last year during the off-season, but he declined because some tournaments took place on Sundays.

He spends three hours at church on a typical Sunday.

“I would play if I could just not play on Sundays,” Sorensen said. “A couple of [club] teams talked to me, but most tournaments finish on Sundays.”

Sorensen is surrounded by talent at Highland. Outside hitter Jon Moser is a three-year starter and Mike Kennedy, a 6-foot-7 senior, has formidable blocking skills.

The immediate future looks good for Highland.

“We’re a really balanced team,” Sorensen said. “If [opponents] key on the middle, they’ll get killed by our outside. If they key on the outside, the middle will get them. If we’re all on, we can go pretty far.”

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No coaching staff can match playing experience with Westlake.

Coach Jon Roberts was a two-time All-American at UC Santa Barbara and assistant Larry Rundle a two-time All-American at UCLA.

“There’s a massive amount of experience playing and coaching volleyball,” Rundle said.

It has worked for the Warriors (10-2, 6-2 in Marmonte League play), who have spiked the losing trend of recent seasons.

“We have made tremendous progress,” Rundle said. “We have a team that doesn’t overwhelm anybody, but we’ve learned to compete and scrap for a lot of balls.”

Roberts, in his first year at Westlake, took the coaching job partly because he knew Rundle would be his assistant.

Roberts idolized Rundle while growing up.

“When I was starting to play, this guy was my hero,” Roberts said. “He was a very dynamic player. He was the Karch Kiraly of my day.”

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Taft and Poly are a victory away from undefeated regular seasons.

Poly (11-0) plays its regular-season finale Tuesday at Verdugo Hills. Taft (12-0) plays its final match Wednesday at home against Van Nuys.

If Taft wins, the defending City champions deserve the top seeding in the playoffs. Poly likely will be seeded No. 2 or No. 3.

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A few mid-season thoughts. . . .

* Biggest surprise: Alemany. Last year’s star, Richard Nelson, plays for UCLA, but the Indians (12-2) are ranked No. 4 in Southern Section Division II.

* Team to watch in the playoffs: Canyon. The Cowboys (7-2) have improved since early losses to Highland in four games and Simi Valley in five, and Gideon Gibson has enough firepower to worry any opponent.

* Top sophomore: Setter Bart Kowalski runs Royal’s offense with ease and efficiency.

* Mid-season most valuable player: Tie, Mike Gledhill of Taft and David Russell of Royal. Gledhill, a 6-6 senior middle blocker, has helped ease the Toreadors’ burden of repeating as City champions. Russell, a 6-6 junior, has excelled despite a recent switch from middle blocker to opposite hitter.

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Boys’ Volleyball Top 10

Rankings of teams in the region

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RK LW School (League) Rec. 1 1 Royal (Marmonte) 13-1 2 2 Highland (Golden) 7-0 3 3 Taft (West Valley) 12-0 4 4 Canyon (Foothill) 7-2 5 6 Alemany (Mission) 12-2 6 7 Chaminade (Mission) 10-2 7 5 Quartz Hill (Golden) 7-2 8 8 Westlake (Marmonte) 11-2 9 9 Village Christian (Alpha) 14-0 10 10 Simi Valley (Marmonte) 10-2

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