MUKILTEO — The girls on the surging Kamiak High School volleyball team don’t claim to be prophets, yet they all believe in the power of visualization.
Before their most recent match, Kamiak players closed their eyes in a quiet hallway adjacent to the court and imagined playing a perfect match: making strong serves, delivering precise passes, smashing authoritative hits.
A few minutes later, Kamiak began turning dreams into reality and swept Monroe in the Class 4A District 1 championship match. This week Kamiak, ranked No. 3 in 4A (Washington State Coaches Association poll), hopes to use the same approach to generate success at the 4A state tournament.
Kamiak (16-1), which hasn’t lost a non-invite match since Sept. 5, plays a first-round state tourney contest against Shadle Park noon Friday at Toyota Center in Kennewick. The other local teams in the 4A championships are Monroe and Edmonds-Woodway. The favorites are top-ranked Mead and No. 2 Kentwood.
Powered by an experienced core that features eight seniors, Kamiak literally sees itself excelling in its second consecutive trip to the state tourney. Pre-match visualization is a powerful tool, Knights co-captain Melissa Fredericks said.
“When you see yourself doing well, then you’re more likely to do well,” said Fredericks, a senior defensive specialist/libero.
Kamiak coaches said they intended to spend time on visualization last season. But they’ve done it more this season and the results have been promising.
“As former athletes ourselves, we know that it works. If you get out there so they’re serious, there’s certainly going to be some benefit to it. And with these kids, we can do it,” Kamiak coach Debra Crawford said.
“They have bought into it,” Kamiak varsity assistant Kim Reitz said.
It helps that Kamiak’s seniors get along extremely well. They tend to spend time together on and off the court and remain ultra-focused on team success.
“We’ve been playing together since middle school and we still hang out with each other outside of school. We can’t get enough of each other,” said senior co-captain Julia Church, a high-flying outside hitter.
Fredericks laughed, noting that the Knights dubbed themselves The Cult because they hang out so much. But in this so-called sect, individual differences are embraced.
“Each of us is so different in our own ways (but) we find a way to mesh all together,” Church said. “I think we would have been friends even if we didn’t play volleyball.”
Monroe, the District 1 runner-up, is in the 16-team state tourney for the third consecutive year. The Bearcats, led by senior middle hitter Kelsey Brennan (216 kills, 59 blocks) and junior outside hitter Kylin Munoz (353 kills), are determined to earn a top-eight trophy after going two-and-out the past two seasons, Monroe coach Dawn Hanson said.
Meanwhile, Edmonds-Woodway makes its first state tourney appearance since 1997, and its first 4A trip since 1994. The Warriors’ leaders include Erin Lauber (133 kills, 32 stuff blocks), Cailin Fellows (212 kills) and Leigh Fishback (573 assists).
“As we are very young and have been absent (from the state tourney) for some years, I am really not sure what to expect of my kids,” E-W coach Mike Pittis said. “They come off probably their best two matches of the season (at districts) and have practiced very well this week.”
Here’s a look at two other local volleyball teams who qualified for their respective state tourneys.
Class 2A
Team: Archbishop Murphy
Coach: Jim Hardy (first season)
Key players: Patti Reeves, senior setter; Megan Robinson, senior middle blocker/hitter; Ashley Broadwell, junior hitter; Rachel Shober, junior middle hitter; Becca Gotz, sophomore outside hitter.
Coach’s comment: “It’ll be a really fun tournament because there are 13 or 14 teams that could win it if they get it going,” Hardy said. With Pullman, Murphy’s first-round opponent, “I’m expecting a well-coached and confident team, so we’ll have our hands full.”
Class 2B
Team: Darrington
Coach: Greg Powell (19th season)
Key players: Mandy Powell, setter; Kimi Woodward, senior libero; Caitlin Pendergrass, senior right-side hitter; Maggie Wicken, senior middle hitter.
Coach’s comment: “Other than (Mandy Powell), there are no club players, so as seniors these girls are just realizing their abilities and skills as volleyball players,” said Greg Powell.
Contact Herald Writer Mike Cane at mcane@heraldnet.com. For more high school sports news, check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.
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