Molten 18-Black Members: Klayson Barlow, Randy Blunck, Benjamin Dockter, Andrew Hales, Aaron Johnson, Robert Jones, Andrew Meissbach, Jesse Noble, Sean Ostrander, Justin Petersen, Gavin Tanner, Corbin Weatherby. Kurstan Olaso, Head Coach; Jolynn Faatulu-Olaso, Assistant Coach.

Molten Continues Dominance in Boy’s 18’s

Molten 18-Black coach Kurstan Olaso knew from the beginning of the season that his boys had what it would take to win a Region Championship. “It was a matter of getting better, individually and as a team, as the season progressed, since we knew our competition would.”

Call him a prophet; call him psychic, but for sure you can call him a Region Champion.

Olaso and his boys defeated the AZ Primitive 18-1 squad two sets to one to win the boy’s 18’s Regional Championships held at Home Courts in Tempe on December 16th. It was Molten’s 4th straight trip to the finals and third title in those four seasons.

Olaso early season goals with this team were clear. “This team was unique in the sense that we had a lot of individual talent, but not a lot of team chemistry at first.” He says. “It took a couple of months of hard work to get that together. These boys learned a lot about not just the end result, but how to get there and what it takes to get to where they wanted to be.”

The Molten 18-Black lost only two matches all season, a factor Olaso says came from having the team train and play at such a high level always. A factor that the Coach says helped them in their semifinal match against Zona’s 18-1’s team after losing the first set.

Individually, Olaso put great emphasis on accountability and attitude, and his players seem to grasp it. “This team did a great job of supporting one another and helping each other when they were not at their best.” Olaso praises.
“ Klayson Barlow and Sean Ostrander stepped up for us in the end with a lot of offense since Gavin Tanner was cramping in the finals. Our middles, Jesse Noble and Randy Blunck, did a great job of blocking and transitioning in the middle for us. And Andy Meissbach, our libero, managed to keep our serve receive strong throughout the majority of the season. I had three setters on this team, neither of which was a full time starter until the day of Regionals. Justin Peterson played a big role throughout the season for us but our sophomore setter, Ben Dockter, came out strong that day with a huge jump serve and a lot of confidence running our offense. Our team became much better when they learned how to push each other, regardless of who was starting that day for us.”

Olaso used a tool that helped the players with their perceptions. “The team came up with a success diagram that they used to rate their own performance at practice and someone else on the team.” He says. “This showed them that sometimes their perception of their own game maybe different from others and I think they learned a lot from each other. It was great to see different guys picking up the slack when things weren't always at its best. My goal was to have them all playing at a level where they were able to recognize what needs to be done to reach their goal and to have them constantly pushing each other to get there.”

Mission accomplished Coach!

Dec 2006