All-Area Volleyball Player of the Year: Monroe’s Jessica Clark

Published 6:58 pm Tuesday, December 8, 2015

When Monroe volleyball coach April Munoz looked at her daughter Kendal’s college schedule and the schedule for the 4A District 1 tournament earlier this year, she noticed a potential problem. Her daughter’s Senior Night was on the same day as the final day of districts — two days after the district championship.

In order for Munoz to be able to fly to California to attend her daughter’s match, the Bearcats had to win the district championship, meaning they wouldn’t have to play on the final day of the tournament.

Monroe senior outside hitter Jessica Clark promised her coach she would be on that plane. Thanks to the leadership Clark displayed throughout the season, Munoz had no problem believing her star senior.

“I booked the flights, I checked into the flight and I packed my bag before we played,” Munoz said.

Then Clark and her teammates delivered on her promise. The Bearcats swept Jackson to win the district championship.

Clark’s play and leadership helped send the Bearcats into the Class 4A state tournament and earned her the title of The Herald’s 2015 Volleyball Player of the Year.

The sustained success the Bearcats had this season was new to Clark. In her previous two years, Monroe hovered around .500 and missed out on the state tournament both times. The Bearcats came close her junior season, falling to Kamiak in a winner-to-state/loser-out match.

That loss motivated Clark.

“Last year, we were points away from going to state and I had to see my seniors cry and be sad and talk about how it’s their last year,” Clark said. “I hated seeing that. It made me feel like next year I didn’t want to be in that position. I want to be at the top. I want to be Wesco champs.”

It seemed a lofty goal, but when this season began the Bearcats just kept winning. They won their first four matches, but it was after a victory over Kamiak in their fifth match of the season that Clark realized the team was capable of doing something special. As the team’s leader, she made sure to deliver that message every day in practice.

“That’s the reason we got to state, it really is,” Munoz said. “Jess has such an incredible drive for competition and she loves it. It just bleeds into everyone that she’s around. As a freshman, she didn’t know how to use that. She’s had to learn and develop into a leader. This year she’s stepped onto the court and by far was a positive leader and encouraging. She kept every practice competitive. You couldn’t walk into the gym and be lazy with Jessica around. It just wasn’t possible.”

Clark was the emotional leader and led on the floor, but she had help. Junior outside hitter Meredith Teague and junior libero Mina Duong both made major contributions.

Clark and Duong have developed a special friendship that includes some healthy competition.

“We pushed each other to be better every single day,” Clark said of Duong. “We’d race each other in lines because we wanted to beat each other out. That helped me and I think it helped her get better. She keeps me sane when I’m getting mad at myself or mad at the call or whatever. I think her being there to look me in the eye and say, ‘Jess, you need to get your stuff together, let’s go.’”

With Clark, Duong and Teague leading the way and a surrounding cast that included freshman middle blocker Samantha Zimmerman and freshman setter Tatum McGovern, the Bearcats rolled into the district tournament with a 14-0 record. At the district tournament they didn’t lose a set, sweeping Lake Stevens and Jackson.

Clark said carrying the undefeated record created a lot of pressure — even if it didn’t seem like it.

“Everyone was like, ‘You guys don’t even get nervous,’ but we all did,” Clark said. “Mina and I would talk to each other and I was like, ‘Dude, I’m nervous,’ and she was like, ‘Yeah, I am too.’ I kind of had to hide it though. I didn’t want the team to know I was nervous.”

The Bearcats advanced to the state quarterfinals with a win over Graham-Kapowsin in the first round of the state tournament, but lost later that same day to Battle Ground and the next day to Mead to end their season with a 17-2 record.

Even though the tournament didn’t end the way Clark wanted, Munoz said she was thrilled to be there after three years of waiting.

She was the most excited out of anybody,” Munoz said. “She wanted it more than anybody and I’m actually surprised that it took that many years, with her talent, for us to get there. I think it was just the overall development of the whole team. It was huge for her.”

Clark led the Bearcats in kills (251) and was second on the team in digs (278) behind Duong — pretty impressive for a 5-foot-7 outside hitter.

“She’s an undersized hitter, definitely, but she’s got more shots than any hitter I’ve ever had,” Munoz said.

“I think she’s really gone under the radar to a lot of people because of her size,” Munoz added. “She’s not a flashy player, but she just gets the job done. She’s so well-rounded everywhere on the court.”

So well-rounded that she may be even better on defense than on offense.

“She’s probably the best defensive player I’ve ever coached in my 10 years here,” Munoz said.

Clark, who is also a standout beach volleyball player, returned home Sunday after a weekend recruiting visit to Grand Canyon University. On Monday, she committed to play beach volleyball for the Antelopes.

“I had a great senior year,” Clark said. “It was the best year on the Monroe volleyball team that I’ve ever had. I was thankful for that. … Now I have to focus on what’s next ahead of me.”

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