Snohomish’s Reagan: Volleyball Player of the Year

SNOHOMISH — The list of awards and honors Snohomish senior Lanesha Reagan has earned in her high school volleyball career is quite long — and getting longer.

After concluding a stellar career with the Panthers in a 3-1 loss to Camas at the Class 4A state tournament on Nov. 16, Reagan has earned one honor that had eluded her — The Herald’s All-Area Player of the Year.

Former Jackson High School star Emmy Allen, who plays at Washington State University, won the award the previous two seasons.

“Emmy, I’ve always looked up to her and I thought she was really, really good,” Reagan said. “So being the All-Area Player of the Year after her is just really cool.”

After Allen graduated in June, the two didn’t get to compete against each other this fall, but they will get that opportunity again next fall when Reagan attends Oregon State University.

“We’ve always been friends,” Reagan said. “I knew her when I started playing club volleyball and then I met her sister (Ashley, the former head coach at Jackson), so we’ve always been friends. I’ve never been super competitive with her, when we play each other, we were competitive but it was never like us being competitive (with each other). It will be exciting. I’m going to be playing a lot of girls I know.”

Reagan burst onto the scene with the Panthers as not only one of the top freshmen in the state, but the entire country. As a self-described quiet freshman, Reagan helped Snohomish to a fifth-place finish at state.

Reagan was the only freshman on a team dominated by seniors. It’s hard to imagine now, but she was intimidated.

“It was scary because all of the girls were so much older and I didn’t want to step on any toes,” Reagan said. “I like didn’t talk at all freshman year, basically. I was just kind of there. I was like, ‘OK, I’m coming to practice and I will play, but I’m not here to make anyone upset and I’m just going to play the best I can.’”

It wasn’t just the social side of the game Reagan needed to work on. She admits her game had some weaknesses.

“Freshman year I couldn’t pass, like at all,” she said. “I was horrible on defense or serve-receive.”

Reagan worked on her problem areas in the offseason with her club team, and ultimately turned them into strengths.

After her first year, Reagan envisioned several return trips to the state tournament, but it didn’t play out that way. Her sophomore year the team had to deal with a rash of injuries and it struggled with chemistry in her junior season.

But this year everything came together.

The Panthers lost just two regular-season matches and tied Edmonds-Woodway and Lake Stevens for the Wesco 4A championship. They entered the district tournament as the No. 3-seed based on a three-way tie breaker determined before the season, but went on to win the district championship, losing only one set in three matches.

As a senior, Reagan and her teammates had to get used to being the favorite, something they struggled with early.

“It was different because I don’t know if the team was super prepared for that and prepared for other teams to want to beat us more than anybody else,” Reagan said. “We really should have been ready for it because that’s how we were against Jackson the past years.”

The Panthers entered the state tournament as the No. 4-ranked team in the state and got their toughest challenge of the year in the quarterfinals facing No. 1 Bellarmine Prep. For the first time all year, the Panthers seemed overmatched.

“It was a little rough,” Reagan said with a laugh. “We just couldn’t really pass. Passing and serving just didn’t really work that game, like at all. It was rough. Bellarmine is a really good team and they have a lot of really good players.”

Bellarmine Prep won the match in straight sets and went on to claim the 4A state championship.

The much anticipated matchup between Reagan, a second-team All-American, and Bellarmine Prep’s Courtney Schwan, a first-team All-American, never materialized into what many expected it would be.

“I was really looking forward to seeing Courtney play against Lanesha,” Snohomish head coach Alex Tarin said. “I knew if we served-received well that Lanesha and Courtney would be going back and forth all night long. It would be a very fun match to be a part of.

“I was a little disappointed we weren’t able to see quite the one-on-one matchup against them that I think would have been really, really fun to watch.”

Despite the Panthers not having their best match, Reagan still managed a team-best 16 kills.

Snohomish lost a loser-out match the following morning to Camas and left the state tournament without a trophy.

Even though her senior season didn’t end the way she hoped, Reagan has no regrets.

“I loved playing for Snohomish,” she said. “It’s definitely made me grow a lot, not necessarily as the best player I can be, but the best person I can be. I think that’s definitely going to help me in the long run.”

As far as all the honors and awards Reagan has earned in her career, she keeps it all in perspective.

“I just don’t take the awards or anything super seriously,” she said. “It’s nice and I love playing volleyball, but at the same time I’m not going to get super attached to anything that’s going on right now because it’s just high school.”

As good as Reagan was in high school, team success always came before individual accolades.

“She just wanted to take the girls with her,” Tarin said. “It was never about her. She doesn’t know her stats and she doesn’t know her awards because she really doesn’t care.”

Aaron Lommers covers prep sports for The Herald. Follow him on twitter @aaronlommers and contact him at alommers@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Sports

X
Vote for The Herald’s Prep Athlete of the Week for March 8-17

The Athlete of the Week nominees for March 8-17. Voting closes at… Continue reading

X
Silvertips’ playoff picture coming together as season hits final week

Everett is officially the Western Conference’s No. 3 seed and is likely heading into a matchup with Kelowna or Vancouver.

X
Prep roundup for Monday, March 18

Prep roundup for Monday, March 18: (Note for coaches/scorekeepers: To report results… Continue reading

Los Angeles Rams offensive guard Tremayne Anchrum (72) against the Denver Broncos during the second half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)
Seahawks add to position of need, sign guard Tremayne Anchrum Jr.

The 25-year-old has played in 31 games, starting once, since being drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in 2020.

Everett Community College head coach Chet Hovde watches as the women's team practices on Tuesday, March 7, 2017 in Everett, Wa. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)
EvCC coach Chet Hovde, who ‘lived for’ basketball, dies at 77

Coach Hovde graduated from Everett High School in 1965. He spent 33 years as the women’s basketball coach at the community college.

Jackson’s Ian Friedrichsen celebrates his goal with his teammates during the game against Bothell on Thursday, May 11, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Prep boys soccer: 5 things to watch for the 2024 season in Snohomish County

A look at the top local storylines for this high school boys soccer season

Jackson’s Rachel Sysum is hugged by Leneyah Mitchell after hitting a home run during the game against Bothell on Friday, May 19, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Prep softball: 5 things to watch for the 2024 season in Snohomish County

A look at the top local storylines to keep an eye on this high school softball season.

X
Prep roundup for Friday, March 15

Prep roundup for Friday, March 15: (Note for coaches/scorekeepers: To report results… Continue reading

Glacier Peak’s Samantha Christensen runs to home plate to celebrate her home run with her teammates during the game against Snohomish on Friday, March 15, 2024 in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
GALLERY: Glacier Peak softball tops rival Snohomish

The Grizzlies prevail 9-5 in a clash of area powers.

X
Prep roundup for Thursday, March 14

Prep roundup for Thursday, March 14: (Note for coaches/scorekeepers: To report results… Continue reading

The Washington Wolfpack logo is revealed during the Everett AFL team unveiling at Tony V's Garage in Everett, Washington onThursday, Oct. 26, 2023. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Everett’s new arena football team to have 4 televised games

The NFL Network will broadcast 30 AFL games this season, including two Wolfpack home games.

Washington coach Mike Hopkins yells to the team during the second half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against California, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024, in Seattle. California won 82-80. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
Looking back at Mike Hopkins’ turbulent tenure as UW men’s basketball coach

The departing Huskies coach had highs early, but the good times didn’t last long.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.