Volleyball player Firethorne makes transition from high school to college

Academically speaking, the transition from high school to college is a major step for most students.

Athletically speaking, the change can be just as big.

So it was for volleyball player Linden Firethorne, a 2012 graduate of Langley’s South Whidbey High School. Recruited to play at Central Washington University, she found a significant increase in the demands and expectations during her freshman season with the Wildcats.

“The (higher) level of intensity is there right away,” said Firethorne, speaking by telephone from Ellensburg. “Even as a freshman you’re supposed to jump into it and go at that pace, so that was kind of hard.

“I thought high school was stressful, but here it’s a whole other level. It really is a job. You have 6 a.m. weightlifting sessions and conditioning. You do a lot of stuff as a team. And you’re kind of at the coaches’ beck and call the four years you’re here. If they decide you’re going to have practice on Sunday for four hours, that’s what you do.

“It can definitely be overwhelming and really stressful, but ultimately my 20 best friends are on the team with me. So we still have fun, even if there are hard days.”

All the time and commitment has paid off in a big way for Firethorne, who switched to outside hitter at CWU after being mostly a middle blocker in high school and club volleyball. After playing sparingly as a freshman and starting part-time as a sophomore, she became a full-time starter a year ago and played well enough to be chosen to the All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference first team while helping Central Washington to a third straight regional tournament appearance.

This season Firethorne and the Wildcats are again on a roll. After starting the schedule 0-3, they have since run off 16 victories in their last 18 matches, including weekend wins against Concordia and Western Oregon. They are 12-2 in the GNAC and in a four-way tie for first place with Western Washington, Alaska-Anchorage and Northwest Nazarene.

In Firethorne’s four seasons at CWU, “she’s been through some big moments, some big matches for us, and she obviously had kind of a breakout year for us last year,” said CWU coach Mario Andaya. “So she’s been there, and (this season) we’re seeing her leadership by example in how hard she works, how hard she trains, and her approach to practices and to matches. Those are things our team is really thriving on now, especially the young (players).

“She’s steadily developed and bought into some of the things that are making her the player she is right now,” he added. “She has (a consistent) mentality now. … She’s made that adjustment throughout the years and she’s lights-out now.

One of the team’s recent wins was a 3-1 decision at Western Washington, a perennial GNAC volleyball power. The victory on Oct. 24. was the first time CWU had beaten the rival Vikings in Bellingham in Firethorne’s four years on the team.

“It was really awesome,” she said. “For us seniors, throughout our four years (at CWU), we’d beaten every single team home and away except Western. This was the last chance for the five of us (to win in Bellingham) and it was a really thrilling, exciting experience. … It also shows the potential of what this team can be.”

The Wildcats have six remaining league matches to close out their regular season. After that, Central Washington seems a good bet to reach the eight-team regional tournament for a fourth straight year, though the hope this year is to go even further.

The regional champ advances to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight national tournament, and that is something CWU has never done in Andaya’s 20 seasons as the team’s head coach.

Though the Wildcats are playing well right now, “we still have room to grow, which is awesome,” Andaya said. “I like where we’re at. We’re optimistic. We’re confident in the way we’re playing as a team.”

If the Wildcats can reach and then win the regional tournament to reach the Elite Eight, “that would be incredible,” Firethorne said. “That’s the end goal for all of us. It’s what we’ve been working for since we started the preseason this year.

“I think everybody would be overjoyed and ecstatic if that happened. That’s what we’re aiming for, and I think we’re in a good position to finish strong like that.”