Tracy Press

Young players will be a common sight on the court this season for the three high school volleyball teams.

Tracy High coach David Daily talks to players during Monday’s tryouts at the school. Bob Brownne/Tracy Press

Nearly half of Bess Haldi’s volleyball team graduated after last year’s season, the first in league play for Millennium High School.

But like other sports at the charter school, a playoff spot from last year and the chance to play on a varsity team brought more students out this year. That means a junior varsity team is also on the schedule.

"We’ve got a core of girls with good knowledge of the game. That’s half the battle," she said.

The team begins preseason games at the end of next week and has a couple tournaments scheduled, including varsity and JV tournaments hosted by West High in September and another varsity tournament in Castro Valley at the end of September.

"That experience will impress on them the level of players out there," Haldi said.

West and Tracy each had more than three times the number of girls come out for their freshman teams than can actually be on the rosters. The final cut will be a disappointment to some players, but coaches say some of the new players raise optimism for this year and years to come.

"We’re pretty young, but we have some decent talent," Pete Mullen, West High’s varsity coach said Tuesday.

Mullen has 18 girls going out for the West varsity team, and he usually has 12 or more girls on the team.

He said last year’s team, which took fourth place in the Tri-City Athletic League last year, was relatively young, so many of those players are back.

"We have a lot of athletes on the team. We just have to gel. We have decent hitters, but have to be able to pass the ball."

West freshman coach Chelsea Stephens had 40 girls trying out for her team. She’s going to take 15, and hopes that there will also be a few that can go to the JV team, traditionally made up of sophomores.

This week, both groups were in the subgym at West going through their drills, and Stephens wanted them all to know that past experience doesn’t guarantee anyone a spot on the team.

"That’s why they’re trying out together, so the sophomores know that some of the freshmen can take their spots," she said.

Stevens said that some of the new girls went through Mullen’s volleyball summer camp and learned the basics there.

"With the level the girls are at, it’s going to be a tremendous year for freshman sports. That will be a good deal for the varsity in a couple of years."

Tracy High varsity coach David Daily counted 32 freshmen who have come out for volleyball, plus more than 15 sophomores in addition to the varsity team from last year.

Last year’s varsity squad didn’t have any seniors and only carried three juniors. The rest were sophomores and freshmen, which is good news for Daily.

"I have some experienced returning players, and some who have been on the team for their third year," he said. They come from a team that just missed going to the playoffs last year.

"Our league is very competitive, and last year we and Chavez knocked each other out of the playoffs because we split," he said.

Lodi took the league title, Lincoln came in second and Chavez ended up in third.

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