Sherisa Livingston

It's been a season of reason, and certainly a December to remember, for Sherisa Livingston, a junior middle blocker who has helped Wisconsin dispose of UCLA and USC in consecutive matches of the NCAA women's volleyball playoffs. A former player at Royal High, Livingston has been unstoppable in leading the Badgers to a place they've never been--the NCAA title match, today against Nebraska at Richmond, Va.

It's been a season of reason, and certainly a December to remember, for Sherisa Livingston, a junior middle blocker who has helped Wisconsin dispose of UCLA and USC in consecutive matches of the NCAA women's volleyball playoffs. A former player at Royal High, Livingston has been unstoppable in leading the Badgers to a place they've never been--the NCAA title match, today against Nebraska at Richmond, Va.

Crescenta Valley High upset Bell Gardens, 14-7, on Tuesday in a boys' water polo match at Crescenta Valley. Justin Payne and Bryan Lang each scored three goals for the Falcons (6-1), who halted an 18-match winning streak by Bell Gardens (6-1), two-time defending Southern Section Division III champion. Burroughs 20, Notre Dame 19--Ryan Rittmiller scored seven goals and Brian Carsten had six for the Indians (3-3) at Valley College.

Teresa Russell set a lofty goal for herself as she thumbed through Volleyball magazine before Royal High's volleyball match against Hart. "I want to be on the cover of a magazine just like this," said Russell, who delivered 11 kills and six blocks to help the Highlanders defeat Hart, 15-6, 15-1, 15-6, in a Southern Section Division I-A second-round match at Hart.

Quincy Wright SCHOOL: El Camino Real YEAR: Senior SEASON AT A GLANCE: A three-year starter, the 5-foot-9, 170 pound Wright has established himself as one of the premier running backs in the City Section. Wright gained 1,306 yards and scored 20 touchdowns last year after breaking the 1,000-yard barrier as a sophomore. The Wright-led Conquistadores are expected to battle Taft for the Northwest Valley Conference championship.

Greichaly Cepero woke up one morning with a preseason premonition: Nebraska was going to win the NCAA women's volleyball tournament. The vision came to her during a team trip to China. "I just knew we would win the national championship," said Cepero, selected as tournament most valuable player after her team rallied to defeat Wisconsin, 15-9, 9-15, 7-15, 15-2, 15-9. "We had the people and the chemistry. We were committed to work hard and believe in each other," Cepero said.

FIRST TEAM Michelle Wong Harvard-Westlake Senior Outside Hitter Two-time All-Southern Section Division III selection was sharp as a hitter and passer after moving from middle blocker for Mission League champion. * Sherisa Livingston Royal Senior Middle Blocker All Southern Section Division 1 selection led Highlanders with 294 kills and 113 blocks, helping Royal advance to sectional semifinals for first time since 1989.

The season is early, but the Westlake High girls' volleyball team has already collected its first award. The Warriors defeated San Marcos, 15-3, 15-2, on Saturday night to win the Westlake tournament. Westlake setter Brooke Rundle was named most valuable player of the tournament. Westlake's Courtney Miller, Heatcher Hutchison and Megan Mullen were named to the all-tournament team, as was Elena Salvador of Thousand Oaks. Thousand Oaks defeated Royal in the fourth-place match, 11-15, 15-9, 15-10.

Second-seeded Royal High's volleyball season came to an end Tuesday night when it blew a 14-10 lead in the third game after dropping the first two to third-seeded Marina in a Southern Section Division I-A semifinal match at Royal. Courtney Guerra contributed 17 kills for the Highlanders (17-3) in the 15-11, 15-9, 16-14 defeat, while Sherisa Livingston had seven blocks and Teresa Russell had six blocks for Royal.

Today is first day of the signing period for high school seniors. Here's a list of Valley and Ventura County athletes who have committed to a four-year school. FOOTBALL -- NAME POSITION HIGH SCHOOL COLLEGE Kevin Bentley Linebacker Montclair Prep Northwestern Chris Bishop Offensive line Quartz Hill Utah State Darius Brown Running back St. Francis Iowa Jesse Busta Linebacker Crescenta Valley Utah State Carlease Clark Running back Montclair Prep Wisconsin Joey Cuppari Wide receiver Westlake Colorado State Desmond Davis Running back Oxnard Utah Justin Fargas Running back Notre Dame Michigan Miguel Fletcher Running back Alemany USC Josh Foster Defensive line Paraclete Colorado Derek Graf Offensive line Agoura USC Marcus Helfman Tight end Agoura California Jonathan Hicks Defensive line North Hollywood Air Force Karl Holley Defensive line Westlake Fresno State Sedric Hurns Defensive back Taft Hawaii Hiram Johnson Running back Quartz Hill Army Andrew Jones Offensive line St. Bonaventure Cal Poly SLO Larry Jones Running back Taft St. Mary's Airabin Justin Defensive back Taft Utah Matt Leonard Defensive line Palmdale Stanford Joe Manning Receiver Antelope Valley New Mexico Ryan McCann Quarterback Agoura UCLA Justin Mobley Quarterback Antelope Valley New Mexico David Neill Quarterback Hart Nevada Kjell Nesen Quarterback St. Francis Washington State Kenny Pritchett Running back Crescenta Valley UCLA Ronnie Polk Wide receiver Campbell Hall No. Arizona Armand Seals...