The former All CIF libero was called upon to run the team’s
offense as a setter, which is a position he had never played before.
He adjusted quickly to the very technical position, guiding Laguna
Blanca all the way to the CIF Championship game.
Volleyball coach Jon Roberts, whose decades-long playing and
coaching career stretches to all levels and phases of the game,
made quite a statement at a Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table
luncheon early in the season.
“I think I’ve had two people in my life with that kind of
intensity, and the other one is Karch Kiraly,” he said, referencing
this country's most decorated volleyball Olympian.
The football field was perhaps the most suitable venue for
O’Donnell’s over-the-top fervor, as he led the Owls to a 7-3 record
and the second round of the playoffs. In the opening round win
against Lucerne Valley, he rushed for three touchdowns and threw
for another. After being asked to step up and play quarterback the
week before, he threw for over 200 yards in the game.
His success came as no surprise to Coach Shane Lopes, who
called him the “vocal leader of the team” and noted that O’Donnell
was the player that logged the most off-season hours in the weight
room.
Athletic Director Jason Donnelly said that O’Donnell’s most
impressive quality as an athlete “was the effort he put forth when
nobody else was watching … Pierce was not going to let anyone
outwork him, and that is the quality of a great leader.”
Without O’Donnell’s presence, Owls coaches will be looking
for another young athlete to step up and be the spark that lights a
fire in their teams. It will certainly be an exuberant act to follow.
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