Breakers capture Dave Mohs OC Tourney

Laguna Beach Rides Duo to Volleyball Tournament Title
By Lauren Peterson, Times Staff WriterSeptember 19, 2006

Zoe Garrett and Dana Hutchinson provided the Laguna Beach girls' volleyball team with an effective 1-2 punch Monday night, and the Breakers needed both to finally knock out North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake.Hutchinson collected 17 kills, 10 digs and four blocks and Garrett had 12 kills, three blocks and an ace as the Breakers rallied to defeat Harvard-Westlake, 23-25, 25-21, 15-12, in the championship match of the Dave Mohs tournament Monday night at Huntington Beach Edison.

"We didn't play our best, but we pulled it out. That's the most important thing," Hutchinson said. "I think we worked really hard and we deserved what we got."In a match that was tight throughout and could have gone either way, Hutchinson and Garrett demonstrated why the Breakers (9-0) are getting used to things swinging their way. The duo was selected the tournament's co-most valuable players."We showed that when it gets hard, we have the ability to fight back," said Hutchinson, a 5-foot-11 junior outside hitter who had five kills and two blocks in the second game to help the Breakers rebound after losing an early 4-1 edge in the game.Garrett, a 6-2 senior middle blocker who had five kills and two blocks in the second game, served an ace in front of Harvard-Westlake libero Rachel Yorke to end the second with an exclamation point.With Harvard-Westlake leading, 5-2, in the third game after an impressive spike by Audrey Eichler knocked Hutchinson to the floor, Laguna Beach benefited from a service error and four consecutive attacking errors by the Wolverines that gave the Breakers a 7-5 edge.Harvard-Westlake (7-2), the Southern Section Division III-AA runner-up in 2005, tied the match twice more, at 9-9 and 12-12. The Wolverines, however, never took the lead as Laguna Beach won the tournament for the fourth time. The title was the Breakers' first since 1991, when current AVP women's tour pro Rachel Wacholder was named most valuable player.Hutchinson, a dynamic emotional leader, and Garrett, a soft-spoken but hard-hitting player, aren't on that level yet.But they are gaining reputations as clutch players."They have the ability to make plays when they need to," Laguna Beach Coach Lance Stewart said.The pair led the Breakers last season to the Division IV-AA semifinals, where they fell to eventual champion Los Angeles Marymount."I think, talent-wise, we're there. We just have to execute," Stewart said. "I think this tournament was good for us, just to get a lot of court time together."Garrett, a member of the 2005 U.S. youth national team who transferred from San Juan Capistrano St. Margaret's last year and has committed to USC, had three kills, a block and two aces for the U.S. junior national team as it defeated the Dominican Republic in five games in the gold-medal match of the NORCECA Continental Women's Junior Championships in Monterrey, Mexico, in August."I think I'm a natural athlete, but I've worked at it too," Garrett said. "I want to make progress, and people know that I put in the work and I take volleyball seriously."Hutchinson is expected to be among the top recruits in the nation next season. She and Laguna Beach teammate Paige Obradovich won the 15-and-under division of the 2004 AAU/AVP Southern Pacific Championships."They give us a lot of options," Laguna Beach setter Mychaela Miller said. "I know I'll always have a hitter to go to no matter where I am on the court."