The 2011 season is just two weeks away for the Laguna Beach High girls' volleyball team.
Coach Lance Stewart begins his 11th year with nine players returning from a 2010 squad that reached the CIF semifinals. The Breakers lost three starters (Chanel Stewart, Mackenzie Hester, Lauren Capobianco) from a team that fell to eventual Division 1-A champion Marymount.
Laguna begins the season at the Queen's Court tournament Aug. 27-28 at the American Sports Center in Anaheim. Last year, Laguna reached the tournament final, where it lost to Edison.
"It doesn't count on our record, but it's a good chance to see how we look and what areas we might need to work on," said Stewart, who's guided the Laguna program to three Southern Section titles. "Any time a score is kept, it's a good thing to get into your game flow."
Laguna, as usual, faces the challenge of formidable nonleague schedule. In the first week of the regular season, it hosts Corona del Mar (Sept. 13) and two days later travels to face Newport Harbor (Sept. 15). Other big dates on the schedule are nonleague matches against Torrey Pines (Sept. 21) and Mira Costa (Oct. 24) and appearances at the Dave Mohs Tournament (Sept. 23, 24 and 26) and Torrey Pines Tournament (Oct. 14-15).
