Defending league champion Puyallup has eyes set on 4A state volleyball title this fall
In virtually every sense, what’s new in the Puyallup High gym this fall is buoyed by what came before.
The Vikings volleyball team has a new coach for the first time in three decades, with Allie Schumacher taking over for Tony Batinovich, who started the program and has been present in the stands still during the early season this fall.
Puyallup also has a new setter – freshman Reese Sheppard – who carries on in the position for Adele Holland, who helped the Vikings to a 15-0 pandemic-delayed season last spring and was named the All-Area player of the year by The News Tribune. Shepherd also is the younger sister of one of the Vikings two captains, Sophia Sheppard.
“We were all so young a year ago, even with Adele she had to connect,” said Sophia, a junior. “This year, it’s just been the best. We’ve always been so close. We definitely hold each other accountable, but in the best way. She’s been connecting really well with all the hitters.”
Even Schumacher harkens back to previous seasons at Puyallup. She played for Batinovich, graduated in 2012, and moved on to play collegiately at Eastern Washington.
And this is the new head coach’s sixth season back with the Vikings program. She coached the ‘C’ team for four years and was the junior varsity coach last spring while working closely with Batinovich with the goal of taking over following his retirement.
“The on-going joke was that he would never leave,” Schumacher said of Batinovich. “But, he wanted someone that would take good care of the program. I didn’t want to come in and change everything. I wanted to step in and add what I can.”
Schumacher brings the knowledge she gained as a collegiate athlete. She brings a different pace of play and an enhanced pace of practice to build atop the foundation of success that even a year ago with a team made up primarily of sophomores and freshman (aside from the senior setter in Holland) earned another 4A South Puget Sound League title.
“At the core, there’s something special here,” Schumacher said. “I want to bring my own style of play while keeping the core identity of the program intact.”
Schumacher describes her style of coaching as fast-paced. She wants her team to focus on blocking, and running a quick offense.
“I think we’re all adjusting very well,” Sheppard said. “We’ve always had Allie by our sides, even if she wasn’t the coach.”
As the freshman coach two years ago, Schumacher had her second captain – Ivy Vindivich – on her team. Now a junior and a feared outside hitter, Vindivich has become the Vikings go-to hitter on the outside.
“Her serve receive is also one of the best on the court,” Schumacher said. “She’s always there to keep things calm. Then there’s Sophia, with her intensity at times. They are yin and yang. And they’re also best friends off the court. They have the best qualities of each other. They’re pretty much inseparable.”
Sheppard and Vindivich go way back. They started playing volleyball together around kindergarten with the Little Spikers.
“We work really well together,” Vindivich said. “We already were really close. This is such an opportunity for us.”
Sheppard, the libero, and Vindivich, the outside hitter, played on the same club teams until around age 14. Sheppard now plays her club ball for the North Pacific Juniors 17 Nationals Seattle squad. Vindivich runs with Dakine 16 National out of Fircrest.
The club split hasn’t affected these juniors’ bond. Or their goals for Puyallup this fall.
“We want to win – this year,” Vindivich said. “Allie is so organized. We have these folders and we share our goals. We all have that as one of our goals.”
Puyallup already is off to a 3-0 start with non-league victories over perennial contenders Tahoma, Auburn Riverside and Olympia (a team the Vikings will face again later this season in SPSL play).
“We really wanted to challenge ourselves to get ready for later in the year,” Schumacher said. “Tahoma has been our toughest competition. We hadn’t beaten them since I’d been back. And technically, they are the defending state champion since they won it in 2019 and it wasn’t played in 2020.”
The Vikings exorcised that demon with the early-season victory, putting the past behind them and setting the path moving forward. These Vikings want Puyallup’s first state title. Twice, in 1999 and 2002, Puyallup finished second.
“I definitely think we can go undefeated again,” Sheppard said. “We’re pretty stacked with talent and positive energy. We’re really trying to go for that No. 1 title.”