For the past few years, a state tournament appearance hasn’t been so much a goal as it was an expectation for the Mercer Island volleyball team.
Since 2011, the Islanders have made the 3A state tournament every year, usually with title-winning aspirations. Mercer Island won the program’s first state championship in 2013 and reached the trophy round in 2012 and 2014.
Such ambitions have not changed in 2016. Though in this year’s pursuit for more postseason hardware, one glaring difference is that Mercer Island will be without four-year first-team all-leaguer and 2015 KingCo MVP Jemma Yeadon, now playing Division I volleyball at Notre Dame.
“We lost a powerhouse,” said senior Natalie Robinson, a fourth-year varsity member and returning all-league setter. “Obviously, we have big shoes to fill in terms of not only just a killer on the team, someone who racks up points for us, but also a leader and somebody who can pull us out of tough spots.”
“It leaves a huge hole and there’s a lot missing,” echoed Mercer Island coach Susan Rindlaub. “At the same time, I think that if a superstar leaves, it also allows room for new stars to emerge.”
While Mercer Island may have lost one big piece to its offensive attack, the team returns eight players to its varsity rotation, including first team all-leaguers Robinson and libero Tess Hendelman, and second team outside hitters Kelly Behrbaum and Adara Hamilton.
In years past, Yeadon commanded a great deal of focus from Mercer Island opponents. Now, Rindlaub expects her returning players to make up the difference with a more rounded offensive attack.
“This year, the nice thing is instead of having one dominant hitter and some other solid hitters, we have six really strong hitters,” Rindlaub said. “The ball is going to be set to many different hitters and it’s much harder to defend against.”
Mercer Island’s senior players are approaching the upcoming season as an opportunity to take on larger roles within the team. Robinson will see her role shift, dividing her time as a setter and hitter.
“Everybody is really versatile and that really shows in practice,” Robinson said. “Everybody can pass, everybody can serve and everybody can hit. When you have a team like that, there’s a lot of flexibility with all the different types of rotations that we can run and who we can have in the front and back row.”
Senior defensive specialist Ciera Northrop said while the Islanders will miss Yeadon’s firepower, they hope to make up for it on the defensive end.
“If we have a defensively strong team, we’ll be better in getting the ball over and it will all click from there,” she said. “If our defense is strong and we’re able to return balls, we’ll be able to put the ball away as well.”
Mercer Island has dominated its KingCo 2A/3A competition since 2012, winning the league crown every year except 2014, a year that saw the Islanders forfeit six wins due to a player ineligibility.
There is little reason among the Islanders to believe that the team’s string of dominance won’t continue, even if Rindlaub and her seniors maintain a stance of taking the season one step at a time. Rindlaub expects competitive matches from Bellevue, Lake Washington and league newcomer Redmond, while also mentioning nonconference matchups with Class 4A’s Bellarmine Prep (Sept. 17 in Tacoma) and Holy Names Academy (Oct. 7 at MIHS) as worthy regular season tests.
But as far as team members are concerned, nothing is out of the realm of possibility for this year’s group. After their first day of practice, the Islander players set goals of winning KingCo, districts and state, a familiar mantra of years past.
“Those are our goals and it’s gonna take a lot of work and smaller goals along the way to achieve those,” Rindlaub said. “We would have to come together and peak at the right time at the end of the season, but I absolutely believe they are achievable.”
“We got Mercer Island’s first state title in 2013, which was our freshman year,” Robinson said. “I think we’re capable of doing it again if we can iron things out and execute.”
