Preseason volleyball matches are the time for coaches to tinker with lineups and find the perfect on-court combination for success.
Coach Michelle Ford estimates the number of different lineups she’s used for her Papermakers already is in the double digits. It happened again Thursday — and even went a bit further — for the 4A Greater St. Helens opener, putting a new player in last-minute at middle hitter and deciding to try a two-setter look.
It all worked, as Camas took down Union in four sets to win, 25-23, 20-25, 25-15, 25-21 in the league-opening match for both teams.
Both teams are full of youth and newbies to the varsity roster. While the Papermakers gained a win, more importantly, came a lot of growth. This isn’t the same Camas team that failed to drop a set in 4A GSHL play last season on its way to repeating as league champion. Almost the entire roster is new and seeing major varsity minutes for the first time, including six sophomores.
One of those sophomores is Mackenzie Hancock, whom Ford called the match’s Most Valuable Player. She finished with a team-high 13 kills and also added 19 digs, 10 assists and four serving aces as one of the two setters Tuesday. The win stretches Camas’ league-winning streak to 16 matches dating back to the 2016-17 season.
“I think we learned our potential,” said Hancock. “We learned how much we can really do. We have a lot more to grow and to reach new limits.”
The teams traded leads the first two back-and-forth sets, but in the third, momentum began to shift in Camas’ (4-4, 1-0) favor. Led by Hancock’s eight straight service points that included all four aces, Camas gained a 20-9 cushion on its way to a 2-1 match lead.
That carried over into the fourth set. While Union took its first lead at 18-17 and stretched it to 20-18 behind three Lauren Gehrmann kills, Camas regained its composure to rally and outscore the Titans 7-1 the rest of the way ending with a Kate Golb (six kills total) match-winning kill in the middle.
Traditionally a defensive specialist, 5-foot-4 junior Emma Villaluz (14 digs, 17 assists, nine kills) now starts at outside hitter and setter for Camas. The chemistry in a league-opening win is what she hopes will set the tone for the rest of the season.
“I love how we came together and worked together,” Villaluz said. “You could tell there was a click right away. We were all so excited to play tonight and had so much energy.
“The main thing for us is communication and working together and that communication is going to help us be able to success. And it worked perfectly.”
