State Volleyball | Last chance for first
The T-shirts look only half right.
The Kentwood Conquerors plan to wear warm-up tops today that read “Our record is 0-0″ as they begin their quest for the Class 4A state volleyball championship at the Toyota Center in Kennewick.
Zero losses, yes. Zero wins? More like 32.
For the Conquerors, ranked No. 2 in the state and No. 18 nationally, the only victories that really matter are the ones they seek today and Saturday. Let others hype the possibility of a title showdown with Mead of Spokane, the four-time defending champion. The Covington team’s focus is firmly on Woodinville, today’s first-round opponent at noon.
“Right now it’s all about Woodinville,” Kentwood coach Bil Caillier said. “They’re a great team.”
At state, each match is as important as the next.
“We have to approach every game as if it’s the championship game,” said junior hitter Jessie Genger, recently voted the Most Valuable Player in the South Puget Sound League 4A North Division.
Kentwood won all but one match at last year’s state tournament, falling to Mead in the quarterfinals, 3-2. It was the team’s lone loss in an otherwise stellar season. It also made the “0-0″ T-shirts an easy sell with the players when Caillier made the pitch.
“It doesn’t matter what’s happened in the past,” senior Savannah Feist said. “It only matters now. It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish.”
And finishing on top would be especially satisfying for seniors like Feist and Bre Boyce, who end their outstanding prep careers this weekend. They were part of the Kentwood team that placed eighth in 2004 and seventh in ‘05. As seniors, they have one more try to finish on top.
“We can’t say, ‘Oh, there’s next year,’ ” Boyce said. “This is our last chance. Being our senior year gives us a little extra push.”
Kentwood graduated only one starter from last year’s team, but she was vital - all-state libero Anya Silva. Then Alison Fairchild, an all-league middle blocker as a junior, suffered a major knee injury during club play that cost her her senior season.
“Would we have been a better team with Alison? Yes. There’s no way around it,” Caillier said. “But she’s not there, so we figured out a way to do it without her.”
Rianna Venn, a 5-foot-11 junior, has been a key contributor. Junior Katie Grajewski took over at libero and junior Lauren Campbell picked up her play, joining Boyce, Feist and Genger on the All-SPSL North first team.
Caillier, who has taken Kentwood to state in five of his six seasons as head coach, deserves his share of credit. But he also credits the club experience his players get during the offseason. Most play for the Kent Juniors.
“Club volleyball is a huge part of it,” Caillier said.
So is chemistry.
“We’re like a family,” Genger said.
And this family has its sights set on four more victories.
Sandy Ringer: 206-718-1512 or sringer@seattletimes.com