For Marti Smith, she came to a realization on Thursday night.
In year eight at the helm of Centralia High School’s volleyball team and her 18th overall, what she experienced in game three this fall was something new.
“This was the first game in a long time that I have coached where our energy was up and remained up the entire time,” Smith stated. “That’s the key to this game. Bottom line, they are a fun group.”
The Tigers have mixed in well a six-member senior class and a five-player junior class. They’ve all played volleyball with each other since middle school.
Energy, team chemistry and complete control from the first point to the last paved the way for Centralia to sweep former EvCo rival Rochester 25-7, 25-4, 25-12 in its home opener on Ron Brown Court.
“We’re super close so everything flows naturally,” senior Makenzie Erickson said. “None of us are shy around each other. It is like we’ve known each other our entire lives. I could spend forever with this team.”
Previous groups that Smith has coached were athletic, but lacked the volleyball experience. With all-league first team setter McKenna Smith and two other all league honorees, the game within the game is starting to rise.
Erickson mentioned the “mental skill” has improved tenfold.
“You have to have that connection,” she added. “Everyone has a good amount of volleyball IQ.”
Until Winlock transfer Kendyl Guenther is eligible, Centralia (2-1) doesn’t have the size its league counterparts possess. Its passing and serve receive were mostly in system and a couple balls were kept alive from hustle.
The performance from the service line was the key to the night.
Nineteen aces were fired for the Tigers paced by six off the right hand of Erickson and five more from Logan Baker. They didn’t get a full rotation until midway through set No. 3.
“We have to count on our serving as part of our offense,” Smith said. “We’re gonna be the team that hopefully frustrates (you).”
“That’s one big thing we really (emphasize) is you practice how you play,” Erickson said.
In the first set, Centralia scored 14 of the first 15 points and coasted. A similar story happened in the second set where it scored the first five and then the final eight.
Just a couple days ago, Rochester (1-2) kept it competitive with Napavine. Head coach Courtney Baird was flabbergasted with how the first two sets went.
“I don’t even know what was going on,” Baird said. “If we would have played how we can play, that would have been a better game. You can’t win games when you can’t pass the ball.”
At the net was a balanced attack with Brooklyn Sprague leading with five kills while Baker, Erickson and Shannon Taylor all had at least three kills. Smith distributed seven assists and had eight digs.
Traditionally a 6-2 offense is two setters and one of them is lethal at the net; the rotations allow for that all-around threat.
Problem for the Tigers, and it isn’t a bad one, they are versatile. Smith, Erickson and Sprague rarely left the court. So too did Baker, Ceinna Arelong and Ryleigh Butler. They return to action on Saturday at a tournament in Centerville.
“Everyone has tried every position so we’re really good at adjusting no matter the situation,” Erickson said.
Rochester grabbed a 3-1 lead early in the third set and kept the margin to as little as five. Lexi Dupont finished with four kills and Charlie Culp had six assists for the Warriors, who will be at the Fort Vancouver tournament on Saturday.
“If we can get them to gel, next year hopefully we can be a strong team,” Baird said. “I think we could be a strong team this year if we figure it out.”
