Adelman and May play, Klauda coaches in senior all-star game

By Joe Naiman

San Diego County’s annual senior all-star game for boys volleyball at Scripps Ranch included Ramona High School setter Garrett Adelman and opposite hitter Travis May.

Ramona coach Jeff Klauda was a co-coach of one of the teams, sharing the leadership duties with Westview coach Steve McLaughlin. Adelman was on the blue team they coached.

The blue team lost in four games to the red team coached by Greg Hecht of St. Augustine and Tony Fajardo of Otay Ranch. May played on the red team.

“It was still fun,” Klauda said. “The all-star game really is about letting guys play.”

Each team had 14 players, and the coaches sought to give all team members relatively equal playing time rather than maneuvering the lineup to ensure victory. The teams are divided as evenly as coaches believe possible and do not reflect geography, school size, or other factors.

“They usually try to split up kids from the same team,” Klauda said.

The emphasis on participation and recognizing the top seniors also means that selections do not necessarily correspond to position needs.

“It was hard because we only had two middles, we had two opposites and three setters and then six or seven outsides,” Klauda said.

The red team had six outside hitters and a true libero. The blue team had a 20-15 lead in the first game before the red team called time out and regrouped.

The red team won the first two games, and McLaughlin and Klauda utilized a prime lineup in the third game to avoid a sweep.

“We still wanted to try to win, and we put one of our better lineups out there,” Klauda said.

The sweep was avoided with a blue team win in game three.

“In the fourth game we were trying to have more guys in,” Klauda said.

Had the blue team won the fourth game, Klauda and McLaughlin planned to have the best lineup for the fifth and deciding game.

“Garrett played very well and Travis played well,” Klauda said, noting that May had fewer opportunities as an opposite hitter than Adelman had as a setter.

The all-star teams had one practice at the Epic Volleyball Center in Poway prior to the June 6 game.

Adelman is the youngest of three brothers who played volleyball for Ramona High School. Trevor and Kyle Adelman also participated in the senior all-star game.

“That’s just got to be an awesome feeling,” Klauda said of all three brothers being selected to play.