In Focus: Volleyball ‘Road Warriors’ Welcome Fresh Faces
August 25, 2016 | General, Volleyball
By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
Keegan Cook knew Washington was headed for a transition. The Huskies' volleyball coach knew his program was losing a strong senior class at the end of last season. He knew his team would welcome a large group of newcomers heading into the 2016 season.
Because he knew this year would be one of change, Washington started planning early.
"We've been talking about it for six, eight, 12 months," Cook said. "Are we going to be able to teach this group of people all the different cultural things, all the behaviors we think have value?"
So far, so good.
"Everybody is working really hard, doing their part on this team," said junior Tia Scambray when asked about how the team has meshed in practice.
The Huskies have six newcomers this season, five freshmen – Avie Niece, Maria Bogomolova, Cailin Onosko, Kara Bajema and Shayne McPherson – and a senior – Kameron McLain. It is a group loaded with talent, but the learning curve for these players has been steep.
"What stands out about this particular group is the amount we've been able to throw at them without them getting too overwhelmed or frustrated," Cook said. "We haven't really held anything back at all with this group.
"That's a quality I think is unique to them. We're just throwing it at them. We're going for it."
These new standouts have worked their way into the program with help from their teammates. Scambray was part of a similar transition as a freshman. She leaned on the seniors to help her contribute that first season. The help she received from the upperclassmen was so valuable, she knew then she wanted to one day help a younger generation.
"I wanted to be able to help the way I was helped," Scambray said. "It's very much tradition-based. We had our seniors to teach us and now we're passing on to them what we've been taught. That's how we win. We learn from the best."
McPherson, a freshman libero, grew up watching the Huskies. Before she was a standout at Kennedy Catholic High School, she was a fan of the hometown Division I team, dreaming of one day playing on the same floor as Courtney Thompson, the former Husky national champion and Olympian.
"Ever since I was down here (she lowered her hand toward the floor) I've been up in the stands, cheering on the girls," McPherson said.
Now she is competing for the Huskies, stepping in for another player she looked up to as a young athlete – Cassie Strickland.
Like Strickland, McPherson is making the transition from outside hitter to libero.
"It's a dream come true being here," McPherson said. "The first practice, it was weird, I wasn't nervous. The girls are so nice and friendly, I just felt comfortable in the environment I was in."
Scambray and the rest of Washington's veteran players made the transition so easy, McPherson felt like "a Dawg the first day," she said. "They were so welcoming. It made me really happy."
That quick transition was important for the Huskies, considering they now face a travel schedule that will cover 13,000 miles in the first month of the season, starting this weekend in Virginia and Washington, D.C.
"There's nowhere to run," Cook said. "We're stuck on a long plane ride. All these trips, we're trying to cover some distance this month just to create some adversity and kind of stress our logistical systems out and stress our team culture out.
"We're going to find out a lot about ourselves as we travel these 13,000 miles over the course of the next month."
While Washington will learn a lot the first month of the season, the Huskies already have a strong understanding of where this group is headed, because the preparation process started early. Now it is time to put that work into practice.
"We're kind of the road warriors," Cook said. "That's the way I'm looking at it. I think it's good, because you're kind of in enemy territory a little bit and it's kind of you versus the world a little bit.
"I also think people grow when they're put in adverse situations. That was the idea behind the schedule this fall. Let's put ourselves in some tough situations and see what happens. Hopefully it ends up being a good thing."
