Peninsula volleyball turned it around last year. Now the Seahawks want to get on top

After posting a winless season in 2016, the Peninsula volleyball team was eager to turn things around last fall.

And that’s exactly what the Seahawks did.

Peninsula posted a 6-10 overall record, made the playoffs and posted a 1-1 record in the postseason.

After a season full of lows in 2016, it was a welcome change.

“You could tell during that winless season, a lot of the girls were down every game,” said junior setter Zoe Erkers. “They didn’t have a positive spirit going into it because they were like, ‘Oh, it’s just another game we’re going to lose.’ Last year, when we started winning games, it was a positive thing. The first game we won was a home game, everyone was screaming, a couple girls started crying.”

The 2017 season brought a new attitude, a young squad and a new coach in Katrina Cardinal, also a teacher at Peninsula. Well, sort of new — Cardinal was the school’s volleyball coach from 1998 to 2005, before stepping away to spend more time with her kids.

Cardinal, 43, played volleyball competitively until she was about 38. A 1993 graduate of Peninsula High School, she went on to play Division I volleyball at Eastern Washington University. To her knowledge, she’s the only Division I player the program has produced.

With the team only returning two seniors last season, it was a chance for a fresh start with a new coach.

Cardinal’s enthusiasm, background and intensity were vital to getting the team back on track, said junior outside hitter and defensive specialist Maeve Griffin.

“She’s a great coach,” Griffin said. “I really like the intensity that she brings to the program and she holds high expectations and holds us to a certain standard.”

The program is in a different place than a year ago. The bulk of the roster returns, and expectations are to win even more.

“I think we have so much ahead of us,” Griffin said. “I honestly just think there’s so much potential with this team. I think it’s going to be a great season. We mesh really well, the chemistry on the court is really good so far. I think it’s going to be super important for us to continue pushing one another and lots of communication, just keep pushing each other to do our best.”

Peninsula’s Laney Lovrovich had a stellar season as a freshman for the Seahawks, and then-freshman middle blocker Josie Hampton starred for the Seahawks, as well.

“It was really stressful at first because I wanted to perform,” Hampton said. “The pressure of being on varsity and being one of the younger kids, I learned a lot. I got to play against people a lot older than me, which was great to help me grow as a player.”

With reigning state champion Capital returning most of its roster from last season, a league title in the Class 3A South Sound Conference could be a tall order. But Peninsula is ready for that challenge.

“We’re scrappy,” Cardinal said. “We have some really good players on the team. We’re young, scrappy and we have such awesome speed on our team. I think we’re going to be able to fare pretty well. We have a tough league. I think it’s the toughest league in the state. I think we’ll be right up there.”

Cardinal said the team is able to handle more this season.

“We’ve been able to elevate this year, where last year, we were so young, running plays and the more advanced work, we just weren’t able to do as much as I wanted,” Cardinal said. “We’re able to put that into play this year. That growth is just kind of going to get bigger and better as time goes on.”

Gelling together as a young team last season should pay dividends this fall for the Seahawks.

“Communication is a big part of it — we play really well together,” Erkers said. “We just want to be really fluid playing together and win more games.”

“I think there’s a spark this year,” Griffin said. “I think we totally have the potential to be top in the league, go to districts, and hopefully make it to state. I think we have the skill and mentality to make it.”

PENINSULA VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE

Sept. 6: at Shelton, 7:15 p.m.

Sept. 8: at Yelm tournament, 8 a.m.

Sept. 11: North Thurston, 7:15 p.m.

Sept. 13: at Yelm, 7:15 p.m.

Sept. 18: Capital, 7:15 p.m.

Sept. 22: at Washington (TPCVOB Invite), TBD

Sept. 25: at Timberline, 7:15 p.m.

Sept. 27: at Gig Harbor, 7:15 p.m.

Oct. 9: Shelton, 7:15 p.m.

Oct. 11: at North Thurston, 7:15 p.m.

Oct. 16: Yelm, 7:15 p.m.

Oct. 23: at Central Kitsap, 7:15 p.m.

Oct. 25: Timberline, 7:15 p.m.

Oct. 30: Gig Harbor, 7:15 p.m.