Volleyball Notebook: Basketball, Volleyball, Smith Excels at Both Sports

On the basketball court, 6-foot-8 Kenyatta Smith constantly demanded attention, leading a Flintridge Prep squad that won a CIF-Southern Section divisional championship. Now in the spring, Smith is imposing his size and will on the volleyball court, another sport in which he greatly excels.

“It was a pretty easy transition for me,” Smith said. “I’m a vocal and physical leader on the basketball court, and I’m the same way on the volleyball court. It helps that I was also a captain last year.”

So far this year Flintridge Prep has not gotten off to the best start, going 5-10 to begin the year. But the record is somewhat deceiving as it includes a 1-5 stretch when Smith, along with other basketball players like Jared Norsworthy, Kory Hamane and Jordan Whaley, weren’t able to play. As soon as the basketball season ended and those players came back, the Rebels won three straight.

“Most of the basketball guys just picked up where we left off in volleyball,” Smith said. “Some of us, myself included, tried a little too hard in the beginning before our arms were in full shape. But that’s just part of our competitive edge.”

Rebels coach Sean Beattie is ecstatic to have his big man in full swing as they head into Prep League play. The Rebels host rival Pasadena Poly on Friday at 3:30 p.m. in a pivotal league showdown. Poly is currently ranked No. 4 in the latest Division 5 poll, while the Rebels check in at No. 6.

“When he gets a big hit, it not only fires up the team but him as well,” Beattie said. “He’s a game changer out there, and I always say that it’s not what you say on the court but how you say it, and he’s very confident out there.”

Smith has just a few more games left before his illustrious athletic career at Flintridge prep ends, and he heads to Harvard to play college hoops in the fall.

“I’m very excited for that,” Smith said. “I’m definitely going to play basketball I have to talk to the coaches to see if I can play volleyball too. I would love to, but the seasons over lap and college ball is a whole different thing then volleyball.”

It’s safe to say that if anyone can pull off that feat, Smith is the guy to do it.

Checking in on the Rio Hondo League

It is still very early on, but Temple City has cemented itself as the early favorites in the Rio Hondo League. The Rams have won three straight, including league wins over South Pasadena and La Canada.

La Canada split its first two league games, squeaking by Luke Bensuka and San Marino 3-2 before being swept by Temple City.

The only team yet to play any league games is the Gabrielino Eagles, who are 6-3 on the year. They will not start league play until they take on La Canada next Thursday.

San Marino has only played one league game so far, and the Titans will look to pull off the upset next week when they take on Temple City on Tuesday.

Lastly, South Pasadena is at the bottom of the league with a 3-13 overall record. Despite losing five straight, coach Todd Terzian is still confident in his team.

“We are better than are record and pre-league schedule was high quality,” he said. “I think the Temple City match could have gone either way. We are an improving team and let's see what happens after spring break.”

Checking in on the Pacific League

The Pacific League appears to have two tiers with Burroughs, Arcadia, and Claremont jockeying for the top spot as Crescenta Valley tries to get in the discussions.

Burroughs has emerged as one of the earlier favorites to go deep into CIF playoffs, jumping out to an impressive 18-3 start. In league play, the Indians won a highly contested match with Arcadia, squeaking by 3-2. After that, they breezed past Glendale, and have another week to prepare for Crescenta Valley.

Arcadia has won four of their last five en route to a 9-3 record, with the lone blemish being the loss to Burroughs. Apaches coach Charles Freberg says his team is far from reaching their potential.

“We made a lot of careless errors against Burroughs and a great team like that is going to make you pay,” he said. “We also got tired at the end, but once we figure out those issues, I think we will be a very tough team to beat.”

The Apaches will have until next Wednesday to sort out those kinks before a non-league battle with Chatsworth.

Crescenta Valley has been plagued by inconsistency so far this year. The Falcons followed up an impressive 3-2 win over Rio Hondo League leader Temple City by laying a goose egg in a 3-0 loss against league opponent Claremont. Crescenta Valley has its biggest match of the young season coming up, as the Falcons welcome league leader Burroughs to their gym next Friday.

Kevin Taylor's "Boys Volleyball Notebook" will appear weekly on all Patch sites in the San Gabriel Valley area.