For years, Palisadian Cari Klein’s Sunshine Volleyball Club has developed some of the best players in the country, many of whom are home grown. Three such girls are Huntington residents Isabel Wiatt and Caroline Douglas and Via Bluffs resident Emery Bolkin, who led Sunshine’s 17-1 team to the gold medal at the Windy City National Qualifier in Chicago over Easter weekend. The triumph earned Sunshine a berth in the Open Division at the Junior Nationals in Minneapolis in June.
Wiatt, who plays libero, is a junior at Harvard-Westlake High. Bolkin, a setter, is a junior at Brentwood School. Douglas, also a libero, is a sophomore at Marymount High. Her brother Matt starred at Loyola High and is now a sophomore libero at USC.
Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Wiatt
Competing in the Elite Open division, Sunshine’s 17-1s started the tournament strong and never let up, going unbeaten in nine matches on its way to the title. Two of those wins came in a loaded three-team power pool on the final day of competition when Sunshine defeated Uno Girls 17 Elite and Tstreet 17-Naseri, both nationally-ranked squads that had already earned Jr. National Open bids. By taking first place in the pool, 17-1 assured its own Jr. National Open spot and later clinched the gold medal with a 25-16, 25-16 win over CIA 17 Black in the finals.
Coach Austin Rester cited communication as the key: “When our liberos and setters are constantly talking, we’re at our best on defense and it allows our attackers to transition hard,” he explained.
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