The Riverside Press-Enterprise
FAMILY TIME
Rancho Verde's success due in great part to Vang brothers
The volume can get loud. The words can get harsh.
In the end, however, the bond gets tighter. And the results speak for themselves.
Rancho Verde’s boys volleyball team has claimed league titles in both of its full seasons of competition. At the heart of its success is the Vang family, represented this season by three starters, including standout senior Ywjpheej.
Coach Brandon Baker launched the boys volleyball program in 2020, only to see it stall on takeoff because of the pandemic. By 2022’s first full season, Ywjpheej, who goes by Yupang, was a junior and his brother Txajkhai (Zuck) was a sophomore.
This season, freshman Koobpheej (Koob) made it a trio.
As Baker and the other Mustangs players have gotten to know the Vangs, they have also gotten used to the Vang dynamic. Improvement comes through criticism, and sometimes it isn’t pretty.
“It’s kind of embarrassing,” Koob said. “But we have to learn from each other. At the end of the day, we all know we can learn from our mistakes.”
Yupang said the use of brutal honesty has been part of the family dynamic for as long as he can remember. The Vangs grew up around the sport. Multiple uncles played, including Temecula Valley coach Tshwjxeeb Vang.
“I was coached by my uncles,” Yupang said. “And everything had to be perfect. If it wasn’t, you’d definitely get yelled and cursed at.
“I try not to do it in front of other people. But in the heat of the moment, sometimes it happens.”
The family’s connection to the sport is cultural. While Yupang plays club ball for a team based in Pomona, the others’ experience came primarily through tournaments staged by the Hmong community.
“We’d go to tournaments in Fresno and Sacramento,” Zuck said. “It was all Hmong people going against each other. Most of the players are trying to work on their hops. Since a lot of the Hmong aren’t very tall, you have to learn how to hit to the side, to be a little tricky.”
At 6-foot-3, Yupang goes a little against type. And with his background in club ball, he brought a complete game to the Mustangs program.
“If he’s not No. 1, he’s one of the two best players in the area,” Baker said. “The kid at Hillcrest (Marcello Souza) might be a better pure outside hitter. But my guy is such an all-round player. His passing, his setting. He doesn’t make a lot of errors.”
Those skills were on display as a junior, but with a strong senior group, Yupang let his play do the talking. That has changed this season.
“It’s kind of cool to see him grow up,” Baker said. “He’s become more of a leader. He was kind of quiet last year, not as fiery or excited as he is this year.”
Zuck, the middle brother, saw his game take a large jump last season when he was not part of the starting lineup. This season, he has emerged as the Mustangs’ No. 2 player in kills and blocks.
It didn’t hurt that he grew about 3 inches, but he also benefited from Baker’s emphasis on training and conditioning.
“We don’t just show up at the court and play,” Baker said.
To Zuck, it’s not a chore to hit the weights.
“I like it,” he said, “when we’re at a tournament or something and, as the game goes on, you can see everyone on the other
side is getting tired and we are so ready and on our feet.”
Koob’s introduction to the Mustangs was shagging balls when he was in middle school. When Baker told him he could play varsity as a freshman this year, Koob’s eyes grew wide.
He has quickly shown he belongs.
“From the start, he was a better passer than most of the varsity guys,” Baker said. “He’s one of our best back-row players.”
In the span of two years, the boys volleyball team has made large strides toward joining the perennially powerful programs at the school. The Vangs have been in the middle of that, recruiting players on campus from other sports and even from the school’s Crimson Regiment band.
“They have made a huge impact in building the program,” Baker said. “Almost more than me. They’ve gotten our school excited about the program.”