While football has been underway since last week, Monday marked the beginning of every other fall season in Washington state, including volleyball, where six area teams made it to the state tournaments in Yakima.
Centralia was not one of those six teams last fall, but the Tigers did make it to the district tournament. With a roster loaded with upperclassmen, Centralia coach Marti Smith is confident that this group could get back to the postseason.
“Every year, you always get excited for this first day,” Smith said. “I really like this group. I really love our upperclassmen. They’ve been through the program, they know what the expectations are.”
Monday’s pair of practices were the first step towards a potential playoff return, and it was also the first time that Smith was able to see this group in extended action.
Several contributors from last season are gone, including 2023 all-league honorees in Lauren Wasson, Gracie Schofield, Makayla Chavez, and Selah Calkins.
The upperclassmen that remain have rotated in over the past couple of seasons to get varsity experience, but they have not gotten much extended run on the court together.
“Even though we’ve got quite a few juniors and seniors this year, in a way it’s a whole new group,” Smith said.
Smith isn’t worried about how the girls will connect on the court though. Many have played other sports together, and after feeling the energy and intensity the girls came out with on Monday, she doubts it will take them long to form a deeper connection on the volleyball court.
Instead, Smith said, the challenge comes in finding out which players fit which roles best, which she says is a good problem to have.
“There are still a lot of unknowns, but I love having the unknown,” Smith said. “Because I’ve got girls that can fit multiple positions. It’s just a matter of taking those pieces and putting together the best fit that’s best going to utilize our strengths.”
Among the returners are second-team all-league setter McKenna Smith, outside hitter Hollynn Wakefield, and Payton Baumel and Mikaela Marizita, both of whom saw time in the middle last autumn.
There is still plenty of practice time for other players to step into a more prominent role, and Smith didn’t rule out the possibility of underclassmen impressing and earning a spot in the rotation.
Regardless of how it shakes out over the coming days and weeks, Smith is excited to get back into the swing of things.
“It almost feels like after this first practice, we almost haven’t lost a step,” Smith said. “The energy and the attitude was there the minute we stepped on the court.”
