Little Big School : Pair Chooses to Help Capistrano Valley Christian Shine in Volleyball

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO — Kathleen Bunce could have gone to Laguna Beach High. She could have played volleyball for the Artists, just as her brother, Chris, had done in the early 1980s.

Karen Benkovsky could have gone to El Toro. She could have played on the Chargers’ volleyball team that won the State Division I championship last season.

Instead, Bunce and Benkovsky are among the 200 students who file to classes each day at Capistrano Valley Christian High, a tiny campus about a half-mile west of Interstate 5 in San Juan Capistrano.

But Bunce and Benkovsky have no regrets about their decisions to play for a small school, especially one that has struggled athletically over the past several years.

Along with former coach George Carey and new Coach Dave Barkley, Bunce and Benkovsky turned the school’s volleyball program into a power, even being competitive against schools with enrollments 10 times its size.

Not since Southern California Christian’s 1985 team, which featured Cinnamon Williams and Olympian Tara Cross-Battle, has a school so small had such talented players.

“I never gave going to Laguna Beach much thought,” said Bunce, who has attended the Christian school since the sixth grade. “My brother and sister (Michelle) went there and had a good experience, but I wanted to stay here. My parents wanted me to go here.”

Said Benkovsky: “I always wanted to go here. I always wanted to play for George.”

Carey, a former Laguna Beach High girls’ coach, took over the Capistrano Valley Christian program six years ago. Bunce and Benkovsky were his first big stars.

As freshmen, Bunce and Benkovsky helped the Eagles reach the Southern Section quarterfinals.

As sophomores, they led Christian to an Olympic League title and the section semifinals.

As juniors, they led the Eagles to a 17-2 record and the State Division V championship, the school’s first State title in any sport.

The championship was one of the biggest things ever to happen at the campus, at least from an athletic standpoint.

The football team has struggled to a 9-29 record over the past four years, and has dropped to the eight-man level this season. The boys’ basketball team has won only 40% of its games during that period.

“Volleyball is the top sport at our school because we got so much recognition last year,” Benkovsky said. “No one had ever got as far as we did.”

Said Bunce: “A lot of colleges say women’s volleyball gets overlooked because of football. But here, it’s almost like football gets overlooked.”

No one is overlooking the Eagles this year, no matter how small the school is.

Bunce and Benkovsky have made sure of that.

Both players are four-year starters who are being recruited by several colleges.

Bunce, a six-foot outside hitter, has narrowed her list to Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, Notre Dame and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Benkovsky, a 5-10 outside hitter, plans to visit Georgia Tech, Oregon, Colorado, Washington and Notre Dame.

Both players are outstanding club players.

Benkovsky played for the Mission Valley 18-and-under team that reached the finals at the prestigious UC Davis tournament last summer. She was among 30 players selected to the national junior elite team that trained last summer in Colorado Springs.

Bunce left the Mission Valley program last year and played for Orange County Volleyball’s 17-and-under team.

Both players were key leaders in the school’s Southern Section academic volleyball team championship. Bunce’s 4.0 grade-point average and Bunce’s 3.9 helped the Eagles to an overall 3.6 average.

Despite all the success on the court and off, it wasn’t until this season that Bunce and Benkovsky began to get the respect they feel they and their teammates deserve.

A preseason coaches’ poll lists them among the top 30 players in the state. Capistrano Valley Christian was the only county school with more than one on the list.

And perhaps no team was on more of a mission than the Eagles were at the Orange County Championships two weeks ago.

Instead of playing against other small schools in Division II or III, the Eagles entered Division I and competed against county powers such as Capistrano Valley, Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach.

Capistrano Valley Christian nearly upset top-ranked Corona del Mar in pool play before losing, 15-12. The Eagles reached the quarterfinals before losing to Capistrano Valley, 15-9.

Bunce and Benkovsky carried the offensive load. In 11 matches that day, Bunce had 59 digs and 158 attempts. Benkovsky had 43 digs and 141 attempts. Freshman setter Kensy Zulueta, playing for injured starter Deborah Martin, had 239 assists.

“We got some respect at Orange County,” Bunce said. “Before that, people would say, ‘Oh, you won a State title, but it was Division V and look at the weak league you play in.’ ”

Said Benkovsky: “We wanted to prove that we’re not just some dinky Christian school.”