Volleyball committment

[GrandGreen]

Senior middle blocker has Allen right on course

Eagles have won five straight to put district title within reach

01:50 AM CDT on Sunday, October 3, 2004

By MEYLA T. HOOKER / The Dallas Morning News

It's hard to imagine Allen volleyball standout Catherine Coffey as a soccer player.

But that could have easily been the fate of the Eagles' lanky and energetic middle blocker.

Coffey was a sixth-grader when a family friend pointed out that she had the perfect physique for volleyball.

The Coffeys had been a soccer family, but the friendly advice ultimately landed their 6-1 daughter a full scholarship to play at North Texas next fall.

"We were like 'volleyball'?" her father Mike Coffey said. "But Catherine took to it right away. We were totally into soccer. But this has been a pretty amazing experience for all of us. Hard work has made her the perfect volleyball player."

Coffey, 18, a senior, has been a key part of Allen's success the last two seasons.

After a slow start, the Eagles are in position for another district title run. Allen (23-8, 6-1 in District 8-5A) is in the midst of a five-game win streak.

Coffey had her best performance of the season last week when she posted 20 kills against The Colony. But she didn't take credit for the big game.

"My setter Amy Woodard did an amazing job," Coffey said. "We were out there at a hundred percent."

Unselfishness was something Coffey learned from last year's state tournament team.

Allen, runners-up to San Antonio Clark in the Class 5A tournament last season, was an overachieving unit. Coffey and other returning veterans from that squad have moved on, but haven't forgotten the sense of teamwork that made the Eagles so successful.

"We exceeded everyone's expectations last year," Coffey said. "[Now] we are just focusing on this season and trying not to look back. We are trying to win district."

While dealing with injuries to key starters and the development of younger players, Allen has been fortunate to have a healthy and consistent Coffey. She leads the squad with 43 blocks and is second with 201 kills. Coffey also leads the squad in hitting percentage and has 85 digs and 23 aces in 88 games.

"She has finally found her skill level," Allen coach Kelley Gregoriew said. "To be dominant, you have to control the middle, and she does that. She's very aggressive."

Allen already has lost three more games than it did all of last season. But Coffey said the team knew it would be young and needed developing. She said the team has learned some tough lessons.

"After the [Plano] West game, we realized that even though we are Allen, we are going to get beat," Coffey said. "That didn't bring us down. It made us want to prove to all the other teams that we've still got it."

Allen gets its chance to avenge the early district loss against West at home Tuesday. The Eagles have fallen to the district-leading Wolves only once in 12 matches.

Coffey said that this season has taught her to be patient and humble. But the hated Allen Eagles haven't lost their fire.

"We want to show everyone that we have lost a lot of good players, but we are still a good team," Coffey said. "There have been some [negative] things said about us, but we are just trying to make a name for ourselves."

E-mail mhooker@dallasnews.com

CATHERINE COFFEY

Age: 18

Height: 6-1

Parents: Mike and Susan Coffey

Siblings: sister Courtney, 14

Favorite sport other than volleyball: football

Favorite food: Lucky Charms

Notable: Coffey is a member of the National Honor Society, Student Council, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Parent Teacher Student Association. She also boasts a 4.0 grade-point average.

Quotable: "I've been tall my whole life," said Coffey. "I guess I just fell in love with volleyball."

Plano West (26-3, 7-0) at Allen (23-8, 6-1), District 8-5A volleyball, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Allen

[GrandGreen]

Another VB committ from SAsports.com

Madison’s Rachel Raley doesn’t want a repeat of last year’s finish for her high school volleyball team.

With a talented Madison squad that saw four of its seniors get college volleyball scholarships, Madison should have advanced to post-season play in 26-5A last year.

Raley, one of the talented juniors from last year’s team remembers the pain of losing the third spot to Judson based on overall records.

“My goal for this year is to help my team get a playoff spot,” said Raley after leading the Lady Mavericks to a 27-25, 25-20, 25-16 victory against the Lady Indians at Harlandale’s home gym. “I don’t want to lose another playoff spot because of a technicality.”

The Madison outside hitter has become a one-man wrecking crew, at times. And, talented schools like Harlandale have paid the price.

Raley had 19 kills and four aces to lead her Lady Mavericks to the victory.

Madison jumped out to a 9-5 lead thanks to two of Raley’s aces and three kills. Still, Harlandale, behind the leadership of Stephanie Solano didn’t give up. Solano had two kills to help Harlandale tie the match at 11 apiece.

Raley, with four more kills, and setter Andrea Lanzen, with two aces, led Madison to a 20-14 lead.

Harlandale, unlike most teams facing a six-point deficit, didn’t quit. Behind Solano’s front row play and thanks in part to 12 Madison unforced errors, the Lady Indians tied the match at 25 all.

That set the stage for Raley who had her 10th and 11th kills to help Madison win the first game.

It didn’t help that Harlandale had two unforced errors caused by their serving which caused the 25-point tie.

“You can bet that we will be working on our serving in practice this week,” Harlandale coach Sylvia Cardenas said.

Raley’s less experienced teammates settled down in the second game, lowering their unforced error total to five. Harlandale, meanwhile had 11 unforced errors in the second game.

Outside hitter Amber Wetz had four kills along with Raley’s five kills to pace Madison’s attack. Solano had four kills for the Indians.

Madison swept the match with the help of 10 Harlandale unforced errors. Raley also had five kills and two more aces to lead the Maverick scoring attack.

“I really like this team, and it’s showing a lot of potential,” said Madison coach Renate Goebel. “We’re making tremendous advances after each match, especially when you consider the level of experience of some of our players.”

Raley believes her team can come together, especially when they face some of the tougher teams in their district. “We have the ability to come together as a team,” said Raley. “We have the talent to play against the likes of teams like Churchill.”

Notes: Raley continues the Madison tradition of getting volleyball scholarships as she has verbally committed to play next year for North Texas. Solano meanwhile has attracted academic scholarships for her grades, but Cardenas said she hopes her star player gets a Division I scholarship based on her ability. While not having the spiking talent of Raley, Solano proved her ability to hit kills from the back row, showed effective dink talent as well as showing her capability as a power hitter against Madison.

Kills -- Madison, Rachel Raley 19, Amber Metz 9; Harlandale, Stephanie Solano 11; Assists -- Madison, Andrea Lanzen 31; Harlandale, M. Madrigal 6; Digs -- Madison, Lanzen and Raley 8; Harlandale, Solano 12; Blocks -- Madison, Raley 2 and Hogand 1; Harlandale, Joanne Martinez 3; Aces -- Madison, Raley and Lanzen 4; Harlandale, Tina Flores 3.

Edited October 12, 2004 by GrandGreen