Four Warriors make volleyball all-league team

Four members of Fallbrook High School's boys volleyball team were given all-league honors for the 2018 season.

The Valley League coaches placed James Prahm and Miles Dewhirst on the all-league first team. Eric Leon and Logan Sim were second-team selections.

"That's a tremendous improvement," Fallbrook coach Chip Patterson said of having four all-league players. "Every year we seem to improve."

Fallbrook had no all-league selections in 2014 and only a second-team selection in 2015. The Warriors had one player on the 2016 Valley League first team and none on that year's second team. The 2017 Warriors had two first-team and two second-team Valley League selections; three of those were seniors and Prahm was also on the all-league first team last year.

Sage Creek won the 2018 Valley League championship with an 8-0 record in league matches. Fallbrook and San Dieguito Academy shared second place with 5-3 league marks.

"Sage Creek, they have a lot of good players," said Patterson. "SDA has a lot of good players."

Fallbrook still obtained four positions on the first team and second team.

"It's all based on what the players did, not what the teams did," Patterson said.

Prahm was both a middle blocker and a setter during 2018. He led not only the team but also all Valley League players with a .435 hitting percentage (Leon had a higher hitting percentage but lacked the minimum 300 attempts to be ranked). Prahm's 142 total blocks, 85 solo blocks, and 57 assisted blocks were also all the top figures for the league, and he was also the league leader with 95.4 percent of his serves in bounds. The senior also had 214 kills, 168 assists, 93 digs, and 40 serving aces.

"He's one of the most intelligent players in the San Diego region," Patterson said of Prahm.

Patterson noted that Prahm's contributions went beyond his statistics. "He's a true leader," Patterson said. "He brings excitement and joy to the team."

In some cases Prahm placed team statistics above his individual numbers. "He was a very unselfish individual," Patterson said. "He knew the things he had to do to support his team."

Prahm transferred to Fallbrook High School from Cathedral Catholic and was on the Warriors' varsity for three years.

Dewhirst, an outside hitter, also played three years of varsity volleyball for Fallbrook. The senior made the Warriors' varsity as a freshman but chose to focus on academics in tenth grade. This year Dewhirst led the team with 354 kills, and his .417 hitting percentage ranked second in the league behind Prahm's. Dewhirst added 166 digs, 45 solo and 45 assisted blocks for a total of 90, and 36 aces. He landed 84.2 percent of his serves in bounds.

"Miles is a tremendous athlete," said Patterson. "The kid is very good at playing the game of volleyball. He loves the game."

Patterson noted that Dewhirst improved in attitude as well as in skill performance.

"He made a turnaround this year," said Patterson of Dewhirst. "He was more willing to go along with James Prahm and the team."

Dewhirst has accepted an offer to play volleyball at Concordia University in Irvine. Prahm will play at Palomar College and review future offers from four-year universities.

"They will both be truly missed, and it was a pleasure having them," Patterson said.

Prahm allowed Patterson to use a 6-2 formation with two setters. Leon was the Warriors' other setter during his junior year. Leon's statistics included a team-leading 485 assists, 128 digs, one solo block and seven assisted blocks for eight total, and seven aces. His .550 hitting percentage reflects 11 kills in 20 attempts with no hitting errors, and 95.1 percent of his serves were in bounds.

Sim played as an outside hitter and earned all-league recognition as a sophomore. His 187 digs led the team and he also had 74 kills, seven solo and 18 assisted blocks for 25 blocks total, 23 aces, and 10 assists. He landed 91.2 percent of his serves in bounds.

Fallbrook's overall record was 18-9, including two playoff victories and a loss in the CIF Division III championship match.

"I'm proud of these guys," Patterson said.

Patterson notes that two of his four all-league players are expected to return for 2019.

"I think we have a great chance of repeating next year," said Patterson. "I foresee in the future that the program will continue to grow."