Heart Pulls Drechsel Back Home To Huskies
September 19, 2018 | Volleyball
SEATTLE - While Washington's five freshmen come from five different states, more than a third of the Husky roster is homegrown from west of the Cascades. Kara Bajema, Shayne McPherson, Avie Niece, Natalie Robinson and Lauren Sanders all grew up playing with or against each other on local club teams, coming to matches and camps at Washington and looking to follow in the footsteps of previous local talents like Paige Benjamin, Christal Morrison, Courtney Thompson and Courtney Schwan.
But out of that current group of talented locals, one player with a big arm and a big reputation got away. At least temporarily. Samantha Drechsel, a Woodinville native and graduate of Cedar Park Christian High School, is back home now, joining her former club teammates and rivals after going all the way to the University of Maryland for her freshman season.
"I think my first time I walked into (Washington Volleyball Academy's) gym, I think I was sixteen, and that was the first time I started to get to know Sam," Lauren Sanders says. "I was like, 'wow, this girl is really good.' She was one of the best players in the area and the state and I'd heard a lot about her.
"She was always the go-to girl in club and in college now she's always that person you want to give the ball because something good is going to happen."
Drechsel's profile drew national recruiting attention from an early age, and she started attending some college camps. She decided early in the process that she wanted to challenge herself by moving out of state, and committed early to Maryland.
By the time her high school and club career finished, Drechsel had become one of the nation's top recruits. She was named First Team All-American by Under Armour/AVCA as well as MaxPreps, and PrepVolleyball.com ranked her 23rd overall in its annual Senior Aces list of the nation's top recruits. Sanders, heading into her first year at Washington, was ranked three spots away from Drechsel at No. 20.
Lauren Sanders (1) and Samantha Drechsel (5) squaring off against each other as 12-year-olds.
During her one season as a Terrapin, Drechsel averaged 1.94 kills per set and had some big matches against some of the top teams in the Big Ten, posting 13 kills against Purdue and nine kills on a .333 attack percentage at Nebraska last November. But despite her successes on the court, Drechsel missed home more than she expected.
"I had this idea that I wanted to go away and experience some hard things and grow, and I experienced that, but I think you experience that no matter where you go," Drechsel says, looking back. "I loved all my teammates at Maryland but it's really far from home, and I really just got homesick. When I was going through the recruiting process, Washington wasn't really an option for me, so it was really cool that it ended up working out for me to come home and represent my home state."
By this past spring, Drechsel had already made her return to the Pacific Northwest, gaining admittance to Washington and joining right up with the Huskies partway through the 2018 beach volleyball season.
It was a bit like being a freshman all over again, but this time there were a lot of familiar faces.
"Lauren and Kara were on my club team, and I played against Avie and Natalie and Shayne, so it really didn't feel like that much of a shocking, new environment," she says. "But I've definitely had to adjust a lot so still in a lot of ways I feel like a little freshman."
As one of six newcomers on the team this fall, Drechsel has been able to help the Dawgs establish the type of teammates they want to be this season and over their UW careers.
"We have a lot of new girls, me included, so it's cool how the older girls have kind of taken us under their wing and showed us what Washington volleyball is all about. We're trying to make it a culture where we go hard every play but we still really care about each other. It's been a really good, fun learning experience."
As the Huskies head into Pac-12 play with an 8-2 record, Drechsel is second on the team in kills with 97 and also second in aces with 12. One of the hardest hitters that UW has had at the pins in several years, Drechsel has gone from a right side hitter at Maryland, focused primarily on hitting and blocking on the right, to a left side role at Washington which has her showing off a greater range of skills including serve-receive and her increasingly wicked float serve.
Whatever the team needs, Drechsel says she's ready to take it on. "I'm pretty comfortable on both sides of the net, I'm just trying to let Keegan use me wherever the team needs, trying to be flexible."
Drechsel's love of volleyball took hold early and never let up.
"For some reason I just immediately fell in love with the game, and I was pretty tall, so people noticed," she says with a smile.
Her mother, Marni, played volleyball at Pacific Lutheran University and would eventually coach her high school team. Her father, Thomas, and Marni live in Woodinville still and now can watch Samantha in person every homestand. Samantha also followed in the athletic footsteps of her older brother, Trey, who was a standout basketball player for Western Washington before heading to Grand Canyon University for his senior year this winter.
"From a young age we were playing sports against each other in the front yard," Drechsel says about her sibling. "He helped me develop that competitive spirit and he's someone I can always come to if I have an issue in volleyball, any time he'll listen or give me some advice, and I'll do the same for him with basketball, so it's a really cool relationship."
Occasionally the time commitment felt overwhelming. Working on a research paper her junior year, Drechsel found it hard to find a balance between school and sports, especially because she says she was a player who would always "get there 45 minutes before practice just to work on my skills." But it was that level of passion that convinced her to stick with it.
"Just the love of the game, I really love volleyball, so for me it was worth it to be super tired all the time."
When she does unwind, Drechsel enjoys some quieter pursuits compared to the power and aggression and loud volume of the volleyball court.
"I like to read, I like to journal," she says. "Lauren and I like to do crafts. At one point we did needle embroidery, then we've done crocheting, painting, various arts and crafts."
"Off the court she's one of the sweetest people I know," Sanders confirms. "She's so creative and we have a lot in common. I can come talk to her about anything. She's a great person to have in my life."
Happy to have her back home.
But out of that current group of talented locals, one player with a big arm and a big reputation got away. At least temporarily. Samantha Drechsel, a Woodinville native and graduate of Cedar Park Christian High School, is back home now, joining her former club teammates and rivals after going all the way to the University of Maryland for her freshman season.
"I think my first time I walked into (Washington Volleyball Academy's) gym, I think I was sixteen, and that was the first time I started to get to know Sam," Lauren Sanders says. "I was like, 'wow, this girl is really good.' She was one of the best players in the area and the state and I'd heard a lot about her.
"She was always the go-to girl in club and in college now she's always that person you want to give the ball because something good is going to happen."
Drechsel's profile drew national recruiting attention from an early age, and she started attending some college camps. She decided early in the process that she wanted to challenge herself by moving out of state, and committed early to Maryland.
By the time her high school and club career finished, Drechsel had become one of the nation's top recruits. She was named First Team All-American by Under Armour/AVCA as well as MaxPreps, and PrepVolleyball.com ranked her 23rd overall in its annual Senior Aces list of the nation's top recruits. Sanders, heading into her first year at Washington, was ranked three spots away from Drechsel at No. 20.
Lauren Sanders (1) and Samantha Drechsel (5) squaring off against each other as 12-year-olds.
During her one season as a Terrapin, Drechsel averaged 1.94 kills per set and had some big matches against some of the top teams in the Big Ten, posting 13 kills against Purdue and nine kills on a .333 attack percentage at Nebraska last November. But despite her successes on the court, Drechsel missed home more than she expected.
"I had this idea that I wanted to go away and experience some hard things and grow, and I experienced that, but I think you experience that no matter where you go," Drechsel says, looking back. "I loved all my teammates at Maryland but it's really far from home, and I really just got homesick. When I was going through the recruiting process, Washington wasn't really an option for me, so it was really cool that it ended up working out for me to come home and represent my home state."
By this past spring, Drechsel had already made her return to the Pacific Northwest, gaining admittance to Washington and joining right up with the Huskies partway through the 2018 beach volleyball season.
It was a bit like being a freshman all over again, but this time there were a lot of familiar faces.
"Lauren and Kara were on my club team, and I played against Avie and Natalie and Shayne, so it really didn't feel like that much of a shocking, new environment," she says. "But I've definitely had to adjust a lot so still in a lot of ways I feel like a little freshman."
As one of six newcomers on the team this fall, Drechsel has been able to help the Dawgs establish the type of teammates they want to be this season and over their UW careers.
"We have a lot of new girls, me included, so it's cool how the older girls have kind of taken us under their wing and showed us what Washington volleyball is all about. We're trying to make it a culture where we go hard every play but we still really care about each other. It's been a really good, fun learning experience."
As the Huskies head into Pac-12 play with an 8-2 record, Drechsel is second on the team in kills with 97 and also second in aces with 12. One of the hardest hitters that UW has had at the pins in several years, Drechsel has gone from a right side hitter at Maryland, focused primarily on hitting and blocking on the right, to a left side role at Washington which has her showing off a greater range of skills including serve-receive and her increasingly wicked float serve.
Whatever the team needs, Drechsel says she's ready to take it on. "I'm pretty comfortable on both sides of the net, I'm just trying to let Keegan use me wherever the team needs, trying to be flexible."
Drechsel's love of volleyball took hold early and never let up.
"For some reason I just immediately fell in love with the game, and I was pretty tall, so people noticed," she says with a smile.
Her mother, Marni, played volleyball at Pacific Lutheran University and would eventually coach her high school team. Her father, Thomas, and Marni live in Woodinville still and now can watch Samantha in person every homestand. Samantha also followed in the athletic footsteps of her older brother, Trey, who was a standout basketball player for Western Washington before heading to Grand Canyon University for his senior year this winter.
"From a young age we were playing sports against each other in the front yard," Drechsel says about her sibling. "He helped me develop that competitive spirit and he's someone I can always come to if I have an issue in volleyball, any time he'll listen or give me some advice, and I'll do the same for him with basketball, so it's a really cool relationship."
Occasionally the time commitment felt overwhelming. Working on a research paper her junior year, Drechsel found it hard to find a balance between school and sports, especially because she says she was a player who would always "get there 45 minutes before practice just to work on my skills." But it was that level of passion that convinced her to stick with it.
"Just the love of the game, I really love volleyball, so for me it was worth it to be super tired all the time."
When she does unwind, Drechsel enjoys some quieter pursuits compared to the power and aggression and loud volume of the volleyball court.
"I like to read, I like to journal," she says. "Lauren and I like to do crafts. At one point we did needle embroidery, then we've done crocheting, painting, various arts and crafts."
"Off the court she's one of the sweetest people I know," Sanders confirms. "She's so creative and we have a lot in common. I can come talk to her about anything. She's a great person to have in my life."
Happy to have her back home.
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