Senior Trio Ready To Dig Down For Dawgs
August 25, 2015 | Volleyball
Washington's 2015 season begins this Friday with the Northwest Challenge in Spokane. Following is a season preview looking at the Husky liberos.
Middle Blockers Preview
SEATTLE - After two years as a starting outside hitter, Cassie Strickland switched to libero as a junior in 2014, anchoring the defense from the back row, and proving that no matter the position she would not take a back seat to anyone. Strickland, the defending Pac-12 Libero of the Year, and seniors Kim Condie and Justice Magraw give Washington a combination of skill and experience at the crucial defensive spot that should frustrate opponents while challenging UW's hitters in practice every day.
Strickland plays the sport with a fearlessness and abandon no matter the position, and her first year at libero was filled with highlight reel moments, but she also made significant progress in the finer points of the position throughout the year, says Head Coach Keegan Cook.
“Cassie made huge gains from the start of last year to where she finished,” Cook says. “When she finished last season, the way she was playing the last few matches in the Pac-12, I think she was completely deserving of the accolades she received.”
Those honors included the Pac-12 Libero of the Year honors and All-America First Team status from Volleyball Magazine. Strickland's passing helped the Husky offense hit .311 on the year, second-best in school history, while a big part of Strickland's game remained her serve. One of the best jump serves in the country, Strickland was second in the Pac-12 in aces with 46 last year, many coming in clutch moments or runs. Heading into her senior season, Strickland is ninth in school history in career aces but just 36 shy of the school record.
Given the progress Strickland made throughout the 2014 season, Cook expects an even higher standard this season, “in terms of the quality of the little touches Cassie is making and how much of an impact her serve will have for our team,” he says. “We have been talking less about the spectacular plays and more about the small little contacts that she makes whether it's passing free balls, or setting out of system balls.
“We spend a lot of time talking about the importance of those plays in addition to the plays that make Cassie Cassie. She is still going to do those things, she is going to fly around and she is going to get us fired up and she's going to make spectacular defensive plays; I want that to be in addition to her just being solid on all the little touches. We have seen it this fall more than we have ever seen it ever before,” Cook says.
Condie and Magraw are also playing at career-high levels, according to Cook, and fans shouldn't be surprised to see either of them on the court in a big moment.
“There could be a lot of really important situations where we ask them to make a big play for us from the service line or as a defender,” says Cook. “I think they are more ready to do that than they have ever been.”
Even in matches where they don't check in, the influence of the two defenders will be felt as both are challenging the Husky attackers like never before in practice. “We have been talking about how it has been pretty hard to kill a ball in our gym lately and Kim and Justice are big reasons for that,” Cook says. “Any success that we have as a serve-receive team or on offense will have a big amount to do with those two because they make it hard on our outside hitters every day.”
A fifth year senior, Condie “is playing as well as she has ever played which is all you can ask of someone,” says her coach, who first coached Condie back in club volleyball in the Bay Area when he was coaching at St. Mary's. “Kim terrorizes us from the service line. She is as healthy as she has been and she is playing good volleyball right now and making us a better defensive team. That is the exact trajectory you would hope for a player.”
Magraw brings a similarly determined work ethic to the gym on a daily basis, and is looking to take full advantage of her senior season.
“Justice is working on her game with as much urgency as I've seen and she is playing the best that she has played in terms of serve-receive, passing and defending,” says Cook. “I could not be more thrilled with the fact the she has gotten to the level that she's at. She is making us better. She is doing a great job.”
With Strickland, Condie, and Magraw in the gym, the defense never rests, and that will play to Washington's advantage on match day.
