Los Angeles Starlites

Last updated

The Los Angeles Starlites were one of six teams in the Major League Volleyball (MLV) franchise. The league began in 1987 and ended short of completing a full season in 1989. Players consisted of former collegiate All-Americans and Olympians. The level of play was highly competitive (above that of even the best Division I college teams) and fast paced, and utilized either a 5-1 or 6-2 offense.

Coached by Pat Zartman, the Starlites placed first in 1987. They also placed first in 1988. Despite their performance, the team's attendance averaged only 800 fans per game, among the lowest in the league in 1987. [1] In 1988, they drew only 3,000 total fans in their 11 home games. [2] The team played its home games at several different venues during the 1987 and 1988 seasons, which may have contributed to its low attendance numbers. [2] The Starlites played their home games at UC Irvine's Bren Center during the 1989 season. [2]

Rules in the late 1980s were a bit different from current volleyball rules. The ball could not touch the net on a serve, and games were to 15 points, with no rally scoring. In 1988 the franchise changed the rules so that game five would move to rally scoring.

Starlites roster

Debbie Green-Vargas is perhaps the most effective American female setter of all time. [6] Green-Vargas is only 5'4" tall. During an MLV match, Green-Vargas's chronic back problem almost put her out of the game. She stuck it out, although obviously in a great deal of pain, to lead the team to victory.

Rita Crockett was awarded a Major League MVP award. Even while Crockett was pregnant, with daughter Marrita, it was not uncommon to see her breaking boards at the 10' line. Rita Crockett is reported to have a 42" vertical jump.

Patty Arosco married volleyball player Mike Dodd. Dodd himself later won the silver medal in beach volleyball at the 1996 Olympics.

Hall and Crockett played while they were pregnant. Rita was told not to dive so she played defense cautiously.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volleyball</span> Team sport

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summer Olympic Games since Tokyo 1964. Beach volleyball was introduced to the programme at the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics. The adapted version of volleyball at the Summer Paralympic Games is sitting volleyball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angel Stadium</span> Baseball park in Anaheim, California

Angel Stadium of Anaheim, better known simply as Angel Stadium, is a baseball stadium located in Anaheim, California, United States. Since its opening 57 years ago in 1966, it has served as the home ballpark of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). It also served as the home stadium of the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL) from 1980 to 1994.

Major League Volleyball (MLV) was a women's professional volleyball league in the United States. It was established in 1987 and disbanded during its third season on March 20, 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karch Kiraly</span> American volleyball player and coach

Charles Frederick "Karch" Kiraly is an American volleyball player, coach, and broadcast announcer. He was a central part of the U.S National Team that won gold medals at the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games. He went on to win the gold medal again at the 1996 Olympic Games, the first Olympic competition to feature beach volleyball. He is the only player to have won Olympic medals of any color in both the indoor and beach volleyball categories. He played college volleyball for the UCLA Bruins, where his teams won three national championships under head coach Al Scates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Brenly</span> American baseball player, manager, and commentator (born 1954)

Robert Earl Brenly is an American baseball sportscaster and a former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played the majority of his Major League Baseball career as a catcher with the San Francisco Giants. After retiring as a player, Brenly worked as a broadcaster with the Chicago Cubs, then as a coach with the Giants, then as a broadcaster for Fox. He was hired to manage the Arizona Diamondbacks for the 2001 season, and won the franchise's only championship his first year, becoming the fourth rookie manager to win a World Series and first since 1961. In 2004, Brenly was released by the Diamondbacks and again became a broadcaster with the Cubs until 2012. He now serves as a color commentator for Diamondbacks broadcasts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ken Landreaux</span> American baseball player

Kenneth Francis Landreaux is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the California Angels, Minnesota Twins, and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1977 through 1987.

Lindy Vivas was a former volleyball coach.

Westminster High School is a public high school located in Westminster, California. It is part of the Huntington Beach Union High School District. It is currently the only school within the Huntington Beach Union High School District to have a working farm as well as the largest school in Orange County. Westminster High School has a rivalry against Ocean View High School, where both schools battle it off during football season in the “Battle of the Bugle”.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USC Trojans women's volleyball</span> American college volleyball team

The USC women's volleyball team is coached by Brad Keller, who was named to the position on February 20, 2020.

The San Jose Golddiggers were a professional women's team in Major League Volleyball from 1987 to 1989. The team played its home matches at the San Jose Civic Auditorium.

The New York Liberties were one of six teams in the Major League Volleyball franchise. The league began in 1987 and ended short of completing a full season in 1989. Players consisted of former collegiate All Americans and Olympians.

The Minnesota Monarchs were one of six Major League Volleyball franchises. The league began in 1987 and ended short of completing a full season in 1989.

Steve Dennis Timmons is an American former volleyball player who represented the United States at three consecutive Summer Olympics, winning a gold medal in 1984 and 1988, and a bronze medal in 1992. He was named the MVP of the 1984 Olympics by the International Volleyball Federation. He was a pioneer of back row hitting.

Ricci Judson Luyties is a former American volleyball player. As a member of the United States national volleyball team, he won a gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Luyties later became a successful professional beach volleyball player and won seven titles. He is now the head women's volleyball coach at the University of California, San Diego.

Troy Richard Tanner is a former volleyball player and Olympic gold medalist. He was a member of the United States men's national volleyball team that won the gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.

Debbie Green-Vargas is an American retired volleyball player and coach. She is regarded as the greatest American women's volleyball setter of all time. Green-Vargas was a member of the U.S. National Team and won the silver medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Rita Louise Crockett is an American former competitive volleyball player. Crockett was a silver medalist at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Leslie Ann Woodard is a former professional women's volleyball player. She played college volleyball from 1982 to 1986, and played on the Major League Volleyball team the Chicago Breeze from 1987 to 1989. She also provided color commentary for ESPN during 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Cup</span> International volleyball competition

The 2019 FIVB Women's World Cup was the 13th edition of the event, contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), the sport's global governing body. The tournament was held from 14 to 29 September 2019 in Japan. This was the first time that the FIVB did not distribute Olympics places since 1991 due to Japan hosting the 2020 Summer Olympics, but points for the FIVB World Rankings were given.

The following teams and players took part in the women's volleyball tournament at the 1984 Summer Olympics, in Los Angeles.

References

  1. ↑ Rosenberg, Scott (May 30, 1987). "Psst, Los Angeles Has Already Won Title". The Los Angeles Times. p. III-12. Retrieved July 22, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 Lowery, Steve (February 17, 1989). "Wrinkle in Twinkle: Beleaguered but Still Champions, Starlites Find a New Home in Bren Center". The Los Angeles Times. p. III-10. Retrieved July 22, 2021– via Newspapers.com. The Starlites never secured a home arena. They played at Golden West College, Loyola Marymount and Cal State Long Beach, sometimes without a whispering of a warning. 'There were times when if you didn't know someone directly involved with the team there was no way you could have known where we were playing,' [coach Al] Gasparian said.
  3. ↑ "Archives". Los Angeles Times . 19 December 1988.
  4. ↑ Monahan, Chris (June 13, 1990). "A star player by any other name". The Orange County Register. p. 17.
  5. ↑ "Santa Ana Orange County Register Archives, Mar 25, 1988, p. 109". Orange County Register. March 25, 1988. p. 109. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  6. ↑ Wagner, Dick. "Here Are Two Olympic Stars Who Never Stopped Shining." Los Angeles Times 14 June 1987: C3.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.