From the sports archives: Crystal Springs Uplands School girls’ volleyball team in the driver’s seat

The greater question is — How long will it be before anyone will be able to?

The youthful Gryphons (5-0 WBAL Skyline, 13-6 overall) took control of the Skyline Division race Thursday with a 25-17, 25-15, 25-23 sweep of the King’s Academy (4-1, 8-8). With both teams entering the day tied atop the league standings, Crystal Springs now takes outright control of first place at the midway point of the season.

For all the success the Gryphons have had, it’s safe to say things will only get better. Of the 14 players on Crystal Springs’ varsity roster, none are seniors and 11 are underclassmen.

“If we add a few more pieces here and there, I think we can be really special,” Gryphons head coach James Spray said. “I think we’re really special right now.”

Prior to last season, Crystal Springs had appeared in seven straight Central Coast Section postseasons. But finishing in second place last year — the first season in which the WBAL Skyline Division went from two automatic playoff bids to just one — saw the Gryphons’ streak snapped.

Now, they are in control of their own destiny after a decisive win against their most contentious league rival.

“For us to beat a quality team like that was a good vote of confidence for us,” Spray said.

Sophomore outside hitter Sophia Lockton has been a force all season, and Thursday’s win was no different. The 6-foot terminator scored a double-double with 19 kills and 13 digs.

As a freshman last season, Lockton started her varsity career as a right-side hitter. That quickly changed though, when Spray — being impressed with her ups — implored her to move to the left side. It was a chance for Crystal Springs to run a prototypical left-side attack, something it hadn’t done in several years.

“I was kind of apprehensive,” Lockton said. “But it worked out really well. Now I’m really happy.”

Now, Lockton is one of the most tenured Gryphons at any specific position. With the graduation of longtime setter Sage Shimamoto after last season — Shimamoto is now a freshman at the Division III progrom at Union College in Schenectady, New York — junior Lara Bautista has moved from libero to setter, and has proven the centerpiece of the Gryphons’ offense.

“She’s been phenomenal,” Spray said. “She’s been a leader on the court, a spiritual leader. When she goes, we go.”

Taking over for Bautista at libero is sophomore Coco Sladewski, who totaled a match-high 18 digs Thursday. Sladewski had little experience at the libero spot prior to this season. She played five matches there last year. Otherwise, she spent just one club season her seventh-grade year donning the libero’s jersey. But, this season, she has taken to it like a natural.

And Crystal Springs’ four freshmen have fit in nicely as well. Entering into tryouts this season, the Gryphons were in need of depth. And right away, it was clear Sophia Tubaco, Gianna Perez, Morgan Cortina and Pranka Pinninty were a good fit.

“I saw them practicing and I knew they were going to play varsity, and they were going to be great,” Sladewski said.

While Crystal Springs played all 13 of its available players Thursday, it was Pinninty who had to take on a more vital role. With regular middle blocker Hilary Linden out of action, Pinninty slid over from her usual right-side position to play middle. It was a tough assignment, contending with TKA’s strong middle presence fronted by 6-foot senior Megan McEwen.

The Gryphons’ defense held their own though. And while getting out-blocked by TKA throughout, Crystal Springs managed to score its one-and-only stuff block of the match to end it, with sophomore Catherine Hu putting down the roof to end a back-and-forth third set.

Otherwise, the Gryphons got a lot of help from TKA, as the Knights committed 30 unforced errors in the match, including 13 in the opening set.

Crystal Springs didn’t have a problem establishing a rhythm with Lockton smashing off the left side though. The sophomore’s swings were loud and accurate. She totaled seven kills and seven digs in a commanding Game 1 win. Then in Game 2, she led the Gryphons back from an early 4-0 deficit.

“I think sometimes our team starts out a little slow … but when we get down, we see the score, we bring each other together and always manage to get back in it,” Lockton said.

TKA led 14-12, but an 8-point run — including a back-row kill from Lockton to give the Gryphons a 15-14 lead — swung the advantage. Crystal Springs went on to finish the set on a 13-1 run.

In Game 3, the Gryphons bounced back from an early 6-1 deficit, forcing ties at six different junctures and as late as 17-17. But a Lockton kill off the left side gave Crystal Springs the lead for good. And the late defensive brilliance of Sladewski and sophomore Phoebe Wong with several impressive diving digs kept Crystal Springs out front.

Lockton said the team’s relatively youthful roster has proven a benefit, and that the team has been able to build chemistry quickly.

“I think that things moved around a lot because there’s a lot of new players,” Lockton said. “A lot of new freshmen … but that we’re so close together in age helps.”