Sim, Pedro on Valley League first team

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

Six members of Fallbrook High School's 2022 boys volleyball team received all-league recognition from the Valley League coaches.

Nolan Sim and Manava Pedro were chosen for the all-league first team. Rodrigo Lopez was given second-team distinction. Logan Belheumer, Lucio Leal, and Derrick Yap were honorable mention selections.

“It was something that was well-earned,” Fallbrook coach Chip Patterson said of having six all-league players.

“I’m very proud of them,” Patterson said. “They did well.”

Fallbrook was 7-3 in Valley League matches, giving the Warriors a share of second place in the league standings. The Warriors’ overall record of 17-15 includes a first-round loss in the CIF Division III playoffs.

Escondido was undefeated in league play and Cougars setter Keelan Sotto was the league’s player of the year, but the Warriors were still able to have two players on the first team. “They worked hard and they earned it,” Patterson said. “They got us the wins. A lot was riding on them.”

The selection of Sotto as the league player of the year included consideration of Sim. “Nolan was in the running,” Patterson said.

Sim was a senior and was one of Fallbrook’s outside hitters. He led the Warriors with 375 kills and made 108 hitting errors in 735 attempts for a hitting percentage of .363. He also led the team with 347 digs. Sim had 38 serving aces, 20 solo blocks and nine assisted blocks for a total of 29, and 19 assists.

“Nolan’s a great player,” Patterson said. “He has done an outstanding job at that outside position.”

Sim and Pedro were co-captains this year, and Patterson also commended Sim’s leadership. “Nolan stepped in and took more of that role,” Patterson said.

Last year Sim played tennis instead of volleyball and there were no all-league awards in 2020 since the coronavirus outbreak ended the season before the start of league play, so this year’s all-league award was the first for Sim.

Pedro, who was a junior, was also on the 2021 Valley League first team as a sophomore. He was primarily a setter and sometimes played at the outside hitter position.

“He’s a dedicated person to the sport of volleyball and he wants to win,” Patterson said.

Pedro led the team with 671 assists and with 110 aces. He had 134 kills in his 297 hitting attempts, and his 36 errors gave him a hitting percentage of .330. Pedro had 226 digs. His 62 blocks consisted of 41 solo and 21 assisted ones.

“He’s only going to get better,” Patterson said. “I’m looking forward to that.”

Lopez was a 2022 junior who played outside hitter. He had 118 digs, 79 kills, 20 aces, eight assists, and five solo blocks.

Belheumer was a senior, although 2022 was his first season of high school volleyball. He played middle blocker for the Warriors and had 56 kills, 32 solo and 14 assisted blocks for a total of 46, six digs, and one ace.

Leal and Yap were both juniors in 2021-22, and both also obtained Valley League honorable mention status as sophomores. Leal played right side hitter and Yap has been the Warriors’ libero. In 2022, Leal had 120 digs, 41 kills, 21 blocks consisting of 16 solo and five assisted, 18 aces, and eight assists. Yap had 320 digs, 31 assists, 14 aces, and three kills.