The Cupertino Courier

Sports

Bridge claims league MVP spot for 2nd straight year

By Mike Barnhart

For the second season in a row, the Homestead boys volleyball team ran the table in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League, reaching the Central Coast Section playoffs with an unbeaten league record.

And for the second year in a row, setter Ryan Bridge received his just due from SCVAL coaches.

The 6-foot-5 senior, who ran the offense for coach Matt Hoffman's Mustangs, once again has been recognized as the league's Most Valuable Player.

Bridge, who averaged 10 assists per game, was one of three Homestead seniors who earned top honors from the league's coaches. Middle blocker Ryan Dedrick, who used his superior height (6-foot-8) to score 311 kills, 77 blocks and 31 service aces, and outside hitter Weston Buckner joined Bridge on the nine-man, all-SCVAL first team.

The remainder of the squad included Mountain View seniors Lev Girshfeld and Ben Douglas and Los Gatos junior Kevin Rutledge, all outside hitters, senior middle blocker Bryson Rovetta of Monta Vista, junior opposite hitter Mike Vetrone of Saratoga and sophomore setter Beau Barron of Los Gatos.

Like Bridge's accomplishment, Dedrick, Girshfeld and Vetrone were all first-teamers in 2006.

The second team included three setters, senior Dennis Chen of Lynbrook, junior Jesus Perez of Fremont and senior Mitch Bonander of Santa Clara, and three middle blockers, juniors Kent Johnson of Saratoga and Juju Turituri of Wilcox and senior John Fisher of Mountain View. Senior libero Bryan Nguyen of Homestead and sophomore outside hitter Justin Lewis of Los Gatos rounded out the second unit.

The coaches tabbed Girshfeld as the Senior of the Year, Rutledge the Junior of the Year, Barron the Sophomore of the Year and Mountain View middle blocker Brad Howard the Freshman of the Year. Hoffman was named Coach of the Year.

What makes the accomplishment all that more impressive for Rutledge is that the Los Gatos junior was competing for the Wildcats in track and field at the same time--and earning all-SCVAL recognition in that sport as well.

Rutledge finished second in the De Anza Division in both the high jump (6-2) and the long jump (21-0.75), but that was only the beginning.