Four coaches in three years led Tumwater volleyball back where it often goes: state

Ellie Boksch and Leah Cairns spent the first two seasons of their high school volleyball careers playing for Tumwater’s three-time state championship-winning coach, Tana Otton.

A year ago, Emma Schuster took on the unenviable task of following Otton’s 15-year run of success, posting a respectable 12-6 record. When Schuster stepped aside after the season, Tumwater replaced her with a tandem of co-coaches who had been T-Bird assistants, Jordan Stray and Jill Giudice.

“They all have very different coaching styles, so it’s been hard to get started each season,” said Cairns, a first-team All-2A Evergreen Conference choice. “We played for Tana for two years, then we had to adjust to a new coach and then new coaches again.”

Cairns and 2A EvCo Most Valuable Player Ellie Boksch, a senior middle blocker, enjoyed playing for all the coaches, once they got used to each new style.

“Tana was very wise. She knows the game, she came in with a lot of confidence and demanded respect,” said Boksch. “Emma was in her first year coaching high school, but it was good she was young and had just come off playing the game. She had a lot of passion.

“This year, our coaches love us. They both have huge hearts for people and for the game. They put in a lot of time, they’re willing to do whatever it takes.”

Stray, whose team will play Fife at 8 a.m. Friday morning at Nicholson Pavilion in Ellensburg to open the Class 2A state tournament, was the junior varsity coach under Otton, so has seen the process unfold.

“One of the challenges we have is consistency. There have been new expectations for three years in a row,” she said. “Emma was a great coach, too, but she had the greater challenge of following Tana. We didn’t have to do that, which was nice.”

Yet the turnover hasn’t created a true rebuilding mentality, though the T-Birds missed out on the state tournament last season for the first time in since 2009, losing to eventual champion Ridgefield in the District 4 consolation finals.

“I don’t think traditional Tumwater volleyball ever left,” said Stray. “These girls are a part of the legacy from Tana’s teams. This is Tumwater volleyball, the way it’s been historically.”

This season had a similar feel to it. Black Hills beat Tumwater in the first meeting of the two teams in 2A EvCo play and led the league most of the way, but the T-Birds rallied to claim the conference’s top seed into district play.

There, they met the archrival Wolves for a third time in a loser-out consolation semifinal and won, 3-1, to face Woodland for the district’s final place at state. Unlike the loss to Ridgefield 12 months before, Tumwater won, 3-1, to gain its state berth.

“Last season they even said they were tired,” Giudice recalled. “This year whenever they would get tired during conditioning, we would say ‘this is for that final district game.’”

Stray agreed.

“Prep work made the difference,” she said. “This year we did a lot of conditioning and a lot of working on different situations during practice to develop mental strength. We prepared for what might happen.”

Boksch noticed something else.

“They trust us,” she said. “They’ll show passion. They’ll yell at us to motivate us, but they also let us know ‘you guys are ready.’ That feels really good to have coaches who trust you the whole way through.”

Some of that trust comes from knowing there is abundant talent in the rotation. In addition to first-teamers Boksch and Cairns, the T-Birds have two second-team All-EvCo selections in second-teamers Aliyah Willms and Rachel Schultz and an honorable mention in Rose Foisy.

All are seniors who’ve played together since age 12. Cairns and Boksch say they are best friends.

“The players love each other so much, they would do anything for each other,” Giudice said. “They play with heart and they put it all on the court for each other.”

“We all bond on and off the court,” Cairns said. “We have such a great amount of love for each other and we want to play for each other. You can see it when we play.”

Neither Boksch or Cairns plans to play in college, citing the increased commitment, academic goals and a realization that the bonds they have with their high school teammates may well be a high-water mark in their enjoyment of volleyball.

“We’re making everything matter,” Boksch said. “Even the team dinners and before and after practices. It’s the little moments that are really good, along with playing with your best friends. The best thing is the people. The game has given us that.”

What the game won’t give them are victories at state. Those have to be earned. Stray and Giudice worry about the 2 1/2-hour Thursday night drive followed by an 8 a.m. game Friday.

Their players have their eyes on the increased competition.

“We’ll be playing teams at a skill level we’ve never played before,” said Cairns.

“The pace of the game is faster at state. We’re a very small team, no one over six feet,’” said Boksch. “But we’re scrappy and we have huge amounts of heart. “