WOODLAND — This season, the Class 2A Greater St. Helens League’s volleyball awards included a Setter MVP category for the first time.
It’s easy to see why Ridgefield senior Callie Curran earned that honor.
Curran has spent the whole season setting her teammates up for success. That continued Thursday as Ridgefield swept R.A. Long (25-22, 25-17, 25-15) in the first round of the District 4 tournament at Woodland High School.
The Spudders (14-3) now have two chances to clinch a state tournament berth on Saturday, starting with a semifinal match against Tumwater.
With losses only to reigning 2A state champ Columbia River and Camas, the state’s No. 2 Class 4A team, Ridgefield has kept the same high standard that has seen the Spudders reach the last five Class 2A state championship matches.
Curran has been a big reason for that. A position that requires athleticism, a fine touch and a selfless attitude suits the Ridgefield captain perfectly.
“I just love hyping up my teammates,” Curran said. “I think that’s the position where you get to do that the most. When you set up your teammates and they get a good kill, that’s really exciting.”
After graduating seven seniors, Ridgefield has looked to sophomores Ella Burke and Paige Hanes as the primary outside hitters. Curran, who herself became a varsity starter as a sophomore, quickly took the pair under her wing.
Among her 46 assists Thursday, Curran set up 14 kills for Burke and 10 for Hanes.
“If we didn’t have such an amazing setter like Callie leading them and telling them how to hit … I don’t think those hitters would be as good as they are,” said Ridgefield coach Sabrina Dobbs.
For a setter, being the team’s lynchpin requires more than athletic talent. It can mean a supportive word when, despite a perfect set, the hitter makes an error.
“She’s always trying to hype the team up,” Burke said. “Even when girls are down she goes over and gives them a high five and says ‘OK, you’re good.’”
“The connectivity with your setter is so important,” Hanes added. “If you don’t have that connection, nothing can happen.”
Whether it comes from her love of Disney music or that she has younger siblings, Curran is like a big sister to the seven underclassmen on this year’s team.
“She’s very open and loving to the younger kids and makes them feel welcome,” Dobbs said. “That’s probably coming from her starting as a sophomore on varsity. She knows how the young ones feel.”
A first-team all-leaguer last year, Curran learned the Ridgefield way from prior team leaders and future collegiate players Lizzy Andrew (Stanford), Natalie Andrew (Navy) and Paige Stepaniuk (Portland State).
“She says what needs to be done and sets a high expectation, which is good,” Burke said. “That makes us better players.”
At 5-foot-10, Curran looks the part of a middle blocker or outside hitter. In fact, she only adopted the setter position three years ago.
Dobbs said that athleticism makes Curran unique among setters, especially on defense.
“Callie is a tall girl who can play the front row and block balls,” Dobbs said. “She’s very dynamic with her setting. The variety of her sets, she can set it to the outside or the back.”
Ridgefield enters the final day of the district tournament having won 13 of its last 14 matches. That lone loss saw the Spudders push Columbia River to five sets after being swept by the Rapids early in the season.
Curran believes her team can continue that momentum and capitalize on the growth the Spudders have shown.
“I think this team can go really far,” she said. “We’ve already built a great bond. I think we can do really well in the postseason.”
Other district matches
COLUMBIA RIVER 3, WOODLAND 0 — Sophia Gourley had 18 kills as the Rapids rolled into the semifinals 25-10, 25-11 and 25-8.
2A GSHL player of the year Sydney Dreves had 15 kills and a team-high 16 digs.
Columbia River will face Mark Morris on Saturday morning, the first of two chances to clinch a state berth.
TUMWATER 3, WASHOUGAL 0 — The Evergreen Conference champion Thunderbirds knocked the Panthers into the loser-out bracket.
MARK MORRIS 3, ABERDEEN 2 — The Monarchs, who finished third in the 2A GSHL, triumphed in a five-set thriller over the Evergreen Conference runner-up.
WOODLAND 3, ABERDEEN 0 — The Beavers kept their season alive with a 25-15, 26-24, 25-15 sweep of the Bobcats in a loser-out match. Woodland will face the loser Saturday’s Ridgefield vs. Tumwater semifinal in a winner-to-state, loser-out match.
R.A. LONG 3, WASHOUGAL 0 — The Lumberjills avoided elimination and will face the loser of Saturday’s Columbia River vs. Mark Morris semifinal in a winner-to-state, loser-out match.
