Not a question of if — just when — it will all come together for young Peninsula volleyball squad

The Peninsula High School volleyball team entered the 2018 season with lofty expectations, and for good reason. There is plenty of talent all over the court for the Seahawks.

But sometimes, coach Katrina Cardinal, along with the players, have to force themselves to take a step back and keep things in perspective.

Peninsula’s roster is one of the youngest in the league, and more than likely, the area. Peninsula has only two seniors on the roster, and the bulk of its starters this season are freshmen and sophomores.

The growing process began last year, when Peninsula posted a 6-10 overall record, after going winless the year before.

And in year two, the growth has continued.

“It’s night and day,” Cardinal said. “From one year to the next, they’re 100 times more confident now than they were last year. So now, we just need to up that and make it even more. In comparison to where they were to where they are, they’ve done a good job at that.”

Peninsula has had some good moments early in the season, posting 3-0 wins over Shelton and Yelm, and a 3-2 comeback win over North Thurston after conceding the first two games of the match.

But the Seahawks’ youth has reared its head with some slow starts, too, particularly last week in losses to Capital (3-0) and Central Kitsap (3-1).

Against Central Kitsap on Sept. 20, the Seahawks never looked particularly overmatched, but Peninsula couldn’t seem to find its footing until it was too late.

“We just started way too slow,” said sophomore middle blocker Josie Hampton. “We’re the type of team that really needs to start strong and keep the energy up the whole time. When we don’t do that, we have a hard time getting back into it.”

To Cardinal, the slow starts aren’t an unusual for a team that is so green and unproven.

“It’s all about confidence,” Cardinal said. “We’re so young, that their confidence isn’t all the way there yet. Once they gain that maturity and confidence — they’re great players — we’re going to see a whole different ball game.”

Some slow starts to games haven’t tampered the team’s enthusiasm. To the Seahawks, it feels inevitable that at some point in the near future, it’s all going to fall into place. And once it does, Peninsula feels they’ll be on the verge of something special.

“There’s so much growth that we’ve had,” said junior Maeve Griffin. “We’re a super young team, so I think it’s just taken us a little time, since we have so many new players. But I think by the end of the season — honestly I think we’ve grown so much from the beginning of the season, already — but I think by the end, we’re going to be unstoppable.”

Hampton said the team has grown from a strategic standpoint and is fine-tuning some of the technique aspects, trying to be more dangerous with its attack.

“We’ve grown a lot with our hitting and serving,” she said. “We’re learning to put the ball away in smart places, rather than just hitting away and not necessarily looking at what spots are open on the court. Our serving, every day at practice, we’re working on those drive serves and really just pounding it at one particular spot on the court. I think that really helps us get our momentum and win the game.”

Cardinal said she believes that once the confidence comes, the Seahawks will be a force to be reckoned with.

“We’ve had a lot of unforced errors,” she said. “We’re working on having confidence in what we do. They move well, they have everything in place, it’s just that follow through and that finish is what we are working most on with our team. Once we establish that, we will really be unstoppable. It’s just that finish point, to be able to put it all together.”

Peninsula travels across town to face Gig Harbor (2-3) this week on Thursday, Sept. 27. The match is set to begin at 7:15 p.m.