There are times when sports can serve a greater purpose.
That has been the case at Marysville Pilchuck High School the past two weeks.
A week after the school shooting that eventually claimed five lives and left another student injured, the MP football team gave the grieving Marysville community something positive to rally behind, claiming the Wesco 3A championship with a 55-34 win over Meadowdale.
It was a step in the healing process.
Last week, the Marysville Pilchuck volleyball team did its part by providing another inspiring moment. After entering the 3A District 1 playoffs as the No. 8 seed — the lowest seed in the tournament — the Tomahawks surprised everyone by pulling off two consecutive upsets to earn a state berth and advance to the district championship.
“After everything that happened, we we’re going to show people that we’re strong and that we can do this as a team,” junior setter Courtney Fitzmaurice said. “We’re going to come back and do it for our school and do it for our friends and community and everything — and we did. We’ve never wanted anything as much as we wanted that.”
The Tomahawks face Mercer Island at 11:45 a.m. Friday in the opening round of the 3A state tournament at Saint Martin’s University in Lacey.
Few expected MP to make a run at a state berth. The Tomahawks lost their final two matches of the regular season on back-to-back nights — their first two matches following the shooting — to finish 6-6 in league play.
Though not reflected in the results, that week and those two losses helped prepare the Tomahawks for success at the district tournament.
Three days after the shooting, the team was allowed to practice at the high school for the first time. Marysville Pilchuck coach Brittany Fitzmaurice said there wasn’t much volleyball played that day. It was the first time the team got a chance to heal collectively.
“We let the girls kind of dictate how they were feeling and what they wanted out of the practice,” Coach Fitzmaurice said. “Ultimately, they just wanted a place to gather and collect (their thoughts) and be together.”
The coach’s setter and younger sister Courtney said the players didn’t know how to act being back in their home gym.
“It was almost like an awkward feeling when we came back,” Courtney Fitzmaurice said. “We felt bad if we smiled or laughed. The coaches kind of said to us that it’s OK to smile and it’s OK to cry. It’s OK to feel your emotions, but being together is what’s important.”
Coach Fitzmaurice, who played for Marysville Pilchuck the last time the Tomahawks went to state in 2008, said she quickly realized that her job was no longer just to coach the team. Her players were dealing with the events of Oct. 24 in different ways and she had to be there for them.
“After everything that happened, I realized I’m not just a volleyball coach now, now I have to be a friend to these girls and I have to be almost like a parent in trying to help them work through this,” she said.
Two days after the Tomahawks returned to practice, they competed for the first time since the shooting, losing 3-1 at Arlington.
“When we played Arlington our first game back, we had a lot of support,” Courtney Fitzmaurice said. “We could see it in the crowd. Everyone was wearing red. It was incredible to see that and to feel it. I think that was probably the toughest (match) we’ve ever played. We still lost, but we felt good about it. It was a good loss.
“After the match, we all kind of broke down. We had that moment. I think it was really good for us to have that. It really brought us closer together.”
The Tomahawks were swept the following night by Shorecrest in the final match of the regular season. Two days later, they opened the district tournament against top-seeded Shorewood.
Coach Fitzmaurice didn’t know what to expect.
“I knew the girls were totally capable of beating each team, but I was unsure of where they were and how stable we were as a team,” she said. “I knew that they were either going to soar through these matches and we were going to do great, or we were going to collapse. They really came together as a team through everything that’s happened. They’re better than they were before. I think they’re stronger and they trust each other.”
Three days after the Tomahawks upset Shorewood, they swept fifth-seeded Ferndale to secure a berth in the state tournament.
“We shared lots of moments together,” junior outside hitter Sydney Jarvis said. “We hugged it out. We cried so many times at practice. It brought us closer together. Then when we had those victories at district, it just made it so much easier and we bonded so much more because we were able to come together and push past it.”
The Tomahawks went on to lose the district championship to Edmonds-Woodway 3-1, but their accomplishments were not lost on Warriors’ head coach Nicole Bordeaux.
“It was a little bit shocking to see them come through the district tournament like they did,” Bordeaux said. “They had some big competitors that they had to go through. … They fought really hard to get to where they are. It was a pretty impressive battle. I was really excited for them. It was really neat and is a great accomplishment for them and for that school.”
The Tomahawks hope to return from the state tournament with a trophy, but whatever happens, their young coach has forever been impacted by what her team accomplished in the face of tragedy.
“After everything, I couldn’t be anything but proud,” Coach Fitzmaurice said. “I have so much respect for these girls. My job is to come in and inspire confidence in them, but I think the tables have turned and they’ve been doing that for me all season.”
Aaron Lommers covers prep sports for The Herald. Follow him on Twitter at @aaronlommers and contact him at alommers@heraldnet.com.
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