Erb takes game up a notch
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Erb takes game up a notch
"The next day when she came to me, she had drawn a diagram of all of Venice's plays," Panthers coach Leanna Taylor said. "Everyone else was sulking, but Danielle went home and tried to figure out what went wrong."
What prompted Erb to do this?
"I was more frustrated than I was mad," Erb said. "They continued to hit and tip the ball to the same spot. I wanted to know how."
For the record, Plant hasn't lost a playoff match since. The Panthers won Class 5A titles in 2006 and 2007. Today, they're nationally ranked and very well could be on their way to claiming a third straight championship.
Erb's terrific play has helped key this run. A 6-foot senior outside hitter, her skills have steadily improved (she leads the team in kills and aces and is second in assists) during her four seasons as a starter. An all-around talent capable of blasting a powerful spike one minute and diving for a ball on defense the next, she earned all-state honors last fall and has scholarship offers from several Division I programs.
And, her coach said, she's not content with any of this.
"She's definitely working hard to get better," Taylor said. "She's not sitting back and eating cupcakes at practice. When she's doing something, she's doing it at 110 percent. She's very in the moment. She wants to get better at everything."
Erb rarely has a free moment. A standout in the class as well as on the court, she also is a yearbook editor and belongs to 10 clubs at school. Volleyball, however, is her passion.
Off the court, she's a happy-go-lucky teenager. On it, the smiles give way to determination and focus. Teammate Ali McCurdy says that is when Erb's "competitive side comes out."
"I'm extremely competitive," Erb said. "If someone's not doing their job, I'll be the one that probably tells them. I don't just play, I try to play the game smart."
By Keith Niebuhr and Eduardo A. Encina, Times Staff WritersIn print: Thursday, October 2, 2008
