Coming off of an appearance in the CIF-SS Division 3 Finals last season, Orange Lutheran boys volleyball is back on the court and ready to make another deep playoff run.
The Lancers will be led by senior Josiah Trautman, who is committed to play volleyball for Vanguard University. Trautman, who has played middle blocker for his OLu career, will be switching to outside hitter for his final season.
Also playing outside hitter this season for OLu is senior Sam Utu, a multisport athlete who will be continuing his football career at SMU next fall. The standout offensive lineman took his junior season off from volleyball but has returned to the court for his senior year.
"Josiah and Sam are great senior leaders," says OLu boys volleyball head coach Henry Valiente. "They've been on varsity for many years, and they're really stepping up into that senior leadership role this year… They've been really good leaders for us so far."
The Lancers also have a talented junior class coming into their own at the varsity level, including Dane Geisen, Adan Jones and Blake Chatterton. At the setter position, OLu will field two experienced returners in junior Calvin Cygan and sophomore Max Lopez. Junior John Garabedian will be taking on the leadership role of libero this season.
"I know we're young with juniors in their first year on varsity, but it's just the way that they play together right now, it really feels more like a family," says Valiente. "There's a feeling of camaraderie, enjoying each other's company and going after it."
OLu opened its season last weekend at the Foothill Classic, finishing 4–1. The Lancers will next compete in the Portola Tournament on February 28 before returning to Honolulu next month for the Hawaii Boys Volleyball Invitational, hosted by Iolani School.
The Lancers will host their first home match February 24 against Kennedy, the defending CIF-SS Division 4 champions. Other key nonleague matchups include El Dorado (March 10) and Cypress (March 12). Trinity League play begins March 20 when OLu hosts Mater Dei.
Valiente believes that coming off of the team's finals appearance last spring that this team is hungry to get back to the title game. He's looking forward to seeing how this group makes their mark on the program.
"I get to see them grow, and I just want them to understand that anything is possible," says Valiente. "We were really proud of what we accomplished last year, but now they know that feeling, and they want to get there again and close the deal. Hopefully it'll happen for them this year."
