DV volleyball hopes trip to LV brings confidence

The Desert Vista boys volleyball team is exactly where it was at this point a year ago - Las Vegas.

The Thunder made the trip to a national tournament in the City of Lights for the second consecutive year, a trip that coach Ryan Tolman said ultimately helped spur his team to capture the Class 4A/5A-Division I state title last season.

He's hoping there's more of the same in store for 2008.

"This will be a good challenge for us, a chance to see some really good volleyball and hopefully find a little niche," Tolman said from Las Vegas.

When DV's not playing itself, the coach is encouraging his team to stick around the courts and absorb as much from the other games as they can.

"They learn a lot by watching other kids and seeing what other teams do," he said. "Hopefully they can start picking up some good habits from that."

Only three other teams - Phoenix Brophy Prep, Gilbert Highland and Tucson Rincon - made the trip to the two-day tournament that includes over 50 teams from California, Nevada and Utah.

"It's a fun trip and we learn some things and we play some good volleyball," Tolman said.

"It's a lot of volleyball in two days, but there's no pressure and that's the nice part about it: we can come out here and play and not really worry about how we do because these are teams we're not really going to see ever again.

"It helps with our confidence."

Results of the tournament, which ran March 17-18, weren't available as of AFN's press time but a tournament recap will be available online at the tournament's conclusion.