Millis High School finds themselves in a unique situation when it comes to athletics. Being a school with such a small enrollment, Mohawk Coaches are allowed to use middle school athletes to complete their rosters. Although having a team of young athletes isn’t always helpful in the current situation, it can surely come in handy as the athletes grow.
One such team that has reaped the benefits of having young athletes grow is the girls’ volleyball squad. Under Coach Lisa Farese, many of this year’s players began their careers on the middle school squad. This year’s team consists of seven seniors who first stepped onto a volleyball court in the Millis Middle School and have continued to improve over the last five or six years.
“In the early days, we typically had seventh, eighth and ninth graders playing on the freshman team, and they took a beating in the Tri-Valley League. Changes were made when my current senior class was in middle school; we now fielded a middle school team rather than a freshman one,” Farese. “The seven seniors experienced this journey for the first time and they were the pioneers.”
Farese went on to say that in the beginning the program housed in excess of more than 20 girls, where you could only field six at a time. Not only was this a challenge, but the coach and the girls never knew who was playing on any given day.
“For a few of them, they knew that they would be playing on that day if they were given a jersey,” the coach said. “It was something that we all, needed to adjust to. Our program in essence went through some growing pains.”
Fast forward to this year, their senior campaign, were Millis volleyball has those seven (now seniors) as the heart and soul of the program while also possessing a bond like no other.
Leading the Mohawk’s onto the court and into battle each and every game are senior co-captains Allie Smith and Cassie Ford. Smith, who missed almost her entire junior season, plays on the right side and is a defensive specialist and while her serve is something to be contended with it’s her leadership that is more than spectacular. Her counterpart is an outside hitter, who has picked up her defensive game, and her serve, too, is deadly but as a captain she has been focusing on building the team.
“It has definitely been a journey. We have always been the younger kids going up against the juniors and seniors, but we’ve made a difference and this year in addition to the seniors we also have a good group of younger girls as well,” Ford said. “Chemistry has improved, because we’ve been together for so long and taking part in varsity games when we were younger.”
Smith agrees that it was a tough road to get where they are today, but the sacrifice was all worth it.
“That freshman year was difficult. We were not only going up against girls two and three years older than us, but we were still building our skills as a progressively young team,” Smith said. “Now as seniors, things are clicking, and I feel that it’s going to be a great year for us, especially having struggled through the years.”
While the coach reiterated that the team is still not the tallest, their hearts are in every action that they perform while on and off the court.
“They have all had their own experience with position, level and won-lost records, but the one thing they will not be denied is their team-first attitude,” Farese said. “I had spoken to them as a group during tryouts about the upcoming season and they all came out of the gates ready to take on the year and the journey together. They have their goals and will not be held back.”
Not having height may hurt the team in some way, but Smith isn’t all that worried.
“We’ve always been a short team, but one with talent,” she said. “We give it everything we have and are very excited about the possibilities of this season. We are also sick about being the underdog and plan on doing something about it.”
The other five seniors that have made the journey are Lydia Flaherty, a middle hitter/blocker and outside hitter; Emily Bicalho, defense and front row; Yasmine Azzouz, a left-handed setter; Mandi Payne, libero and Molly Kane, offensive coordinator of the team.
Although the shortest girl on the court at 5 feet tall, Payne’s game is much taller. She has worked hard in the off-season to improve her defense, is truly the voice of the Mohawks and according to her coach one of the most energetic individuals she has seen during her many years in volleyball.
Flaherty is also on the shorter side at 5 foot 4 inches but she too brings an inspiring attitude to the court. The senior not only brings levity to the tough situations and challenges, but she is always looking for the light at the end of the tunnel and will make sure everyone is focused on the end result.
Bicalho, according to her coach, has speed like lightning and if there is any way to get to a ball to keep it in play she will do it. She never gives up on anything.
Azzouz works at strategically leading her team past opponents. Being that the setter position is similar to that of a football quarterback, she is leads the team with confidence and quietly leads by example.
Kane, who shares time with Azzouz, has a powerful voice that can be heard from anywhere on the court and will do anything in her power to encourage her team to fight harder.
The team opened the season with a victory over Bellingham, something which has been scarce in Millis volleyball over the past few years.
“We are definitely stronger this year, and that win was a good feeling, especially where we’ve been in the past,” Ford said. “Volleyball is not just about strength though, there is a mental aspect to it as well and at this point in our careers we all know it well.”
As the Millis volleyball team looks to improve its program on a continual basis it can look back at the teams it fielded in the 2000’s where they captured State Titles in 2003 and 2008.
“I have had teams that have won with ease, and I have had teams that struggled to the last point of a championship match, the Millis Coach said. “I am thrilled to have this team this year, led by these seven seniors, because everything they earn will be meaningful to them, and it’s something that I don’t think that I can conceptualize the possibilities at this point.”
Issue Date:
October, 2017
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