Wildcats volleyball takes 6th at states
November 19, 2009
By Dan Catchpole
The Wildcats took sixth in the state 3A tournament after falling to Prairie and Bishop Blanchet.
The team played several tight matches to beat Lakes, which upset Mount Si last year, and Camas, which was ahead two matches to one before the Wildcats rallied to knock them off.
Team leaders
Despite overcast skies, Shelagh Macauly and Robyn Schirmer felt good when they got onto a bus full of their teammates bound for the girls’ volleyball 3A state tournament in Kennewick. As the team’s only two seniors, they’ve helped lead Mount Si back to states for its third consecutive year.
The pair has to lead the Wildcats past a rematch Nov. 13 with the Lakes Lancers from University Place in Tacoma. The Lancers upset the Cats last year at states in the opening round, 3-2.
Both Macauly and Schirmer are focused on how their team plays.
“It’s up to us. We need to go play, but I like our chances,” Macauly said.
Schirmer said she has “big expectations” for this weekend.
At 5 feet and 7 inches, she doesn’t dominate the courts physically, but Schirmer is the team’s undisputed leader.
She keeps up a constant chatter, helping her teammates stay focused and on the same page, said Macauly, an outside hitter.
“When I talk to them, my first priority is to make them understand how good they are,” Schirmer said.
Volleyball is a frenetic sport that takes place in the blink of an eye. Success requires split-second reactions and anticipation.
“You always have to be reading your opponent – whether their setter is in the front or back row, where their go-to hitter is,” Macauly said.
Distractions can derail even the best team.
Schirmer, the team’s setter, makes sure everyone is focused on the play at hand, she said.
To do that, she reads their faces. If a girl “looks fragile” after a bad play, she’ll talk to her in the few seconds between plays.
“I know these girls inside and out, even where it doesn’t pertain to volleyball,” she said.
If she can’t say anything, she added, she knows she can count on Macauly to jump in.
It took some time for Schirmer to get used to being a leader. But it’s a role she appears to wear comfortably now.
“I have to trust my passers and hitters, and had to gain the trust of all my players,” she said.
Team chemistry is critical to success, the two said.
Both Schirmer and Macauly said they’ve found another family in their volleyball teammates.
After going undefeated in conference play, Mount Si was unexpectedly upset in the district tournament’s first round by Seattle Prep, but won its next two matches to take third place.
“I was proud of my girls and the way they turned around afterward,” Schirmer said.
Both girls said they plan to play in college, but don’t know where.
Dan Catchpole: 425-392-6434, ext. 246 or editor@snovalleystar.com. Comment on this story at www.snovalleystar.com.
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