Photograph courtesy of Margaret Glomb
Net Profits: From left to right: Willow Glen residents Katie Glomb, Christine Dion, Mattie Pasion and Kiera Reilly, wear their bronze medals after winning the Junior Olympics USA 2001 Girls' Volleyball Championship in Sandy, Utah.
WG athletes win volleyball Junior Olympic
Team wins bronze medals in Sandy, UT
By Karen Kabiling
As if qualifying for nationals and competing in the open division wasn't already enough, four young Willow Glen residents won the bronze medal at the 2001 Junior Olympics on June 30 in Sandy, Utah.
With teams from around the country, as well as Puerto Rico and Italy, Mattie Pasion, Katie Glomb, Kiera Reilly and Christine Dion, from the Kaepa City Beach 14 Black team played in the five-day national volleyball competition in the women's 12-18 age group.
Linda Pasion, mother of Mattie, said the team's hard work made all the difference.
"It's very exciting, and I'm very proud for all their hard work," Pasion said. "There's a lot of stress for the girls when you get to that level."
But it wasn't as nerve-racking for them as it was for the parents who were passing each other Tums to calm themselves down, she said.
Another parent agreed.
"It was very competitive," said Katie's mother, Margaret Glomb. "They're from throughout the country. Some end up as future Olympians."
Like many other parents, she attended the competition to support her daughter as well as the team.
"It was exciting. It's amazing that they can do so well under pressure," Glomb said.
As for Katie, winning meant much more.
She has played volleyball for her school's team and on a club team which she said are two very different teams.
Club teams are much more competitive, and they include much more traveling to tournaments, for which teams have to qualify in order to get to the next level.
This was her third year to compete at the Junior Olympics, but it was the first time she played with the other girls as a team.
In the open division, compared to the club division, fewer teams actually get to this division, she explained. Thus making only a small number of teams to play against each another, creating more competition and a need to qualify.
"I was happy we got a medal, but I was upset because we could have gotten higher," Katie said.
Head coach Steven Santonastaso said the team was competitive in each match with very close scores in the end.
Most of the girls have played in the Junior Olympics before, and they know what it's like to play at that level.
Santonastaso said it is rare to have a continuous set of players on the same team, with some players coming and going, not all keep going to higher levels.
"The way this group came together was pretty special," Santonastaso said. "It was a great experience."
Tryouts for the team were held in November, which paved the way to nationals. By the end of April, the team won two qualifiers in tournaments held in Denver and Southern California.
All that practice paid off with a win at the Junior Olympics.
"I thought they played excellent," he said. "They peaked at the right time."
Through the course of the whole season, including the Junior Olympics, the team made it through rough times and improved significantly along the way.
"I would be lucky to have any of them [on my team]. If
I could, I would because they're great kids," he said. "They came out in the end. I was happy for myself and for them. It allowed me to grow as a coach."
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
