Monroe enters state 4A volleyball tourney with perfect record

This time of the year, records don’t matter much even one as impressive as the one owned by the Monroe volleyball team.

The Bearcats enter this weekend’s 4A state tournament at the Toyota Center in Kennewick with a 16-0 record after having swept Jackson in the district championship last Thursday.

The Bearcats’ unblemished record might lead some to believe that the pressure would be at its peak with state approaching, but head coach April Munoz said that’s not the case.

“Not really, because going into state you know it’s a clean slate,” she said. “You’re going against opponents you haven’t seen before and you’re in unusual territory, gyms that you haven’t played in before. You have to go in prepared for the unknown. It really is a whole new ball game.”

Monroe’s record is most impressive, but Munoz is right in her assessment. The Bearcats haven’t lost, but they also haven’t played any teams outside of their own conference, so they enter the state tournament not really knowing what to expect.

Every Wesco 4A team plays each other twice during the regular season. According to junior outside hitter Meredith Teague it was after the Bearcats got through the first half of their schedule undefeated that the team that finished with a 9-10 record a year ago started to believe this seson could be special.

“I think after we beat every team, that was where we were like, ‘OK, we really have a chance to do this,’” Teague said. “I think that was the point where we were like, ‘OK, let’s really step up and take advantage of this opportunity.’”

And they did just that.

Monroe swept the second half of its schedule the same way it had swept the first, earning a bye in the first round of the district tournament.

When the Bearcats finally played a match in the tournament, they were untouchable. They swept Lake Stevens in the semifinals an swept the Timberwolves in the championship.

How did the Bearcats go from a sub-.500 team to an undefeated district champion in one year?

“I think it’s the maturity of our leadership,” Munoz said. “I think Jessica Clark is a huge part of that. She’s a positive leader. She’s got so much drive and believes in everybody. That’s what gives us our no-die spirit. It comes from her. Her teammates feel it and they grasp on to it. She’s a great leader.”

Clark, a senior, didn’t just earn praise from her coach. Her teammates credit her with being part of the glue that has led to the team’s success.

“Jess Clark is an amazing athlete,” junior libero Mina Duong said. “She’s really positive and she bring a lot of energy to the team.”

As one of the team’s five seniors, Clark’s leadership is to be expected, but she’s also gotten a hand from Duong and Teague.

“Meredith is the best person you’ll ever meet,” Duong said. “She’s a great athlete. When it’s crunch time or when we’re all kind of down, she brings our spirits up and she’s really cheerful. She just makes you feel good yourself.”

Clark said Teague and Duong are just as key to the team’s leadership, which bodes well for the team’s future since Clark is a senior.

“I think us three are strong leaders and I think we wouldn’t be able to do it without each other,” Clark said. “Mina is always keeping me in line when I’m frustrated and Meredith is always getting the point and she’s always positive. I think we all need each other for that and I think they’re going to succeed next year.”

Just as important, Teague is also always one of the best players on the court. In the Bearcats’ district championship win over Jackson last Thursday she finished with a school-record 12 aces, beating the record set by Duong earlier this season.

Munoz said Teague has been working on her serve all season and it has continued to improve. If it continues to get better at state, the Bearcats could make a run toward the championship.

“That can be huge,” Munoz said of Teague’s serve. “It’s going to be a different environment, so she’s going to have to get comfortable there, but yeah, that’s huge. Serve and serve-receive is the biggest part of the match at any level, so if we can get that serve and our passing down we can do a lot of good stuff.”

Clark said before each match the Bearcats emphasize the importance of serve and serve-receive. They’ve gotten results in that area all season long.

“I really think that’s true because our serving this year has been the strongest it’s ever since I’ve been on varsity,” Clark said. “I feel like not a lot of teams have consistent servers. All of us are consistent and all of us know how to get (the ball) in and are aggressive.”

Clark, Duong and Teague get the most attention, but the Bearcats’ surrounding cast has played a key role as well this season. The addition of two freshman, setter Tatum McGovern and middle blocker Samantha Zimmerman, have helped the Bearcats reach their full potential.

Basically, it’s hard to find a weakness in the Bearcats — even when it comes to the mental side of the game. It seems that Duong and her teammates have found a way to turn the pressure of being undefeated into a positive.

“We thought (being undefeated) would (be a lot of pressure), but now that I think about these last games that we’ve been playing we didn’t have any pressure,” Duong said. “I think we learned to control our emotions and we made it a team sport. We didn’t think about ourselves and we’ve really been working on composure and not letting it get in our head and get cocky about it, so I don’t think there is a lot of pressure on us. We’re just going to play and do what we’ve been doing.”

The Bearcats face Graham Kapowsin at 1:30 p.m. in Friday’s state tournament opener. Munoz seemed confident her team’s success could continue.

“I wouldn’t put boundaries on us,” Munoz said. “We’re going to go in and we’re going to set a goal. Our goal was to get to state. Now we sit down and talk about what we’re capable of from here on out, but we needed to get here first before we look forward.”

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