After sweeping last week’s two league matchups, the La Center Wildcats volleyball team remains the 1A Trico League’s top dog with a 6-0 league record and 8-1 overall standing as of last Thursday.
La Center head coach Cymany O’Brien believes her deep and experienced roster will help lead this 2024 squad to another deep postseason run. The roster packs five seniors, with three of them standing at 6 feet tall and a sophomore at the 6-foot mark.
“I have 12 girls that could go in and pretty much play any position,” O’Brien said. “[It’s] a coach’s dream but also creates challenges because you have 12 girls that really could be on the floor and you only get to play six, right?”
This season, the Wildcats seniors have led on and off the court, O’Brien said.
“This is a phenomenal senior class. They are exceptional leaders and just so good about lifting the other girls up, making sure that everybody has everything they need,” she said. “I just can’t say enough about them, about their work ethic and the kind of people they are. They’re a phenomenal group.”
After last year’s third-place finish at state, the best finish since La Center’s 1994 state championship, O’Brien believes this year’s group can find that success again. She said the players need to remain confident in their training and each other, knowing that any one of them can contribute and be a leader on the floor.
One Wildcat junior believes the team is just getting started as the Wildcats continue to roll through the Trico League.
“I definitely feel like this year we’ve been working really hard every Wednesday,” setter Bailey Espana said. “We have a workout, and we’ve been doing a lot of conditioning. This is our year. We’re not done yet. We’re still peaking in our season. We have our five seniors who are doing their very best. This is our year, definitely looking at like top three for state.”
On Thursday, Oct. 3, the Wildcats swept the Seton Catholic Cougars, 25-16, 25-13 and 25-22. With each set being closely competitive at times, O’Brien used her team’s depth to stay fresh on the court. Senior Billie Ross led the Wildcats with 14 kills, three blocks, 14 digs and six aces in the 3-0 win against the Cougars.
This week, the La Center Wildcats started with an away match against King’s Way Christian High School on Tuesday, Oct. 8, but results were unavailable as of press time. On Thursday, Oct. 10, the Wildcats travel north to Kalama for a 7 p.m. meeting with the Chinooks.
