Peninsula volleyball continues undefeated run with leadership from Griffin, Stoddard: “we’re all basically sisters”

A freshman in 2019, Langley Griffin was already considered the “most athletic” in her family.

It was a hefty compliment from the Griffin clan, considering Maeve, Langley’s older sister, was on her way to play volleyball at the University of Washington. Their older brother, Burke, plays football for the University of New Hampshire. The Griffin parents were Division-I athletes at Washington, too.

Maeve told The News Tribune two years ago that Langley “definitely (has) the natural talent in the family.”

Now, Langley is a co-captain for an undefeated Peninsula volleyball team. The “natural talent” her sister once described never left. And in a rivalry game against Gig Harbor, specifically, the six-foot Griffin served her way to a second-set comeback win on Sept. 21.

The Seahawks were down by seven points, but Griffin stepped to the service line, and landed “ace after ace after ace after ace,” Peninsula head coach Katrina Cardinal said. They took home the game-clinching third set, along with the bragging rights that come with the crosstown victory.

The Seahawks (11-0, 3A SSC) haven’t lost, as of Thursday afternoon’s press time (Peninsula has a game against Capital on Thursday night). Most games end in a three-set sweep, though three teams have managed to force a fourth set. No team has forced a fifth.

Maeve graduated in 2020, but her mentorship of former teammates has rippled through time. During Langley’s freshman year — and current co-captain Kadence Stoddard’s sophomore season — Maeve was the team “superhero.” Only so many players love playing for Peninsula and buy into the school as much as the sport, Cardinal said.

Maeve’s departure forced the team to look in the mirror, Stoddard said. When the Seahawks returned for their first season without the older Griffin sister, Stoddard turned to Langley and said, “We need to do what your sister did. For everyone.”

Stoddard devotes her energy to the good of the team. Her individual goals revolve around the improvement of the group, and the rest comes second. When Maeve graduated, Stoddard said the team needed to come together, and wanted to be at the forefront of that transition.

“Every single one of those girls... family,” Stoddard said. “I think that’s what also helps keep things like loose on the court.”

Langley adjusted to volleyball without her sister, primarily by realizing that there were, in fact, other teammates she could connect with.

“We’re all basically sisters, honestly,” Langley said. “We’re so close. It’s definitely a special bond that we have. I figured out you can go to anybody on the team.”

On the court, Griffin and Stoddard are different players, but share similar intensity, Cardinal said. Stoddard studies the game and wants an answer for everything. She knows the weakness of every player that lines up against her.

Griffin covers the court in three steps, and uses what Cardinal describes as “natural gifts of athletic ability” to move to the ball effortlessly.

“They’re both fighting to win... but they just do it in such different ways,” Cardinal said. “Teammates can follow one or the other. It’s not just a one-way street to get to that same goal. And it’s pretty awesome between the two.”

Around the age of 12, Langley took up volleyball after encouragement from her older sister. By her freshman year, she found herself in Peninsula’s starting lineup, and said that Maeve was the “one person she could always go to.”

Stoddard’s introduction to volleyball was left to chance at the mercy of a television remote. Once set on becoming a professional soccer player in middle school, she flipped through channels before discovering a college volleyball game — a good one, she remembers — and decided to try the sport out for herself.

“Just seeing the camaraderie, how they move... I was like, ‘maybe I should try middle school volleyball,’” Stoddard said. “And that’s just what got me going.”

And while Griffin and Stoddard are Peninsula’s captains, Cardinal admits there likely should have been a third.

In a new format this season, players applied for the role of captain. Cardinal planned for two captains, and after team voting, Lauren Wittmers lost by one vote.

When Cardinal tallied the votes, she realized Wittmers didn’t vote for herself.

“She is the most selfless kid,” Cardinal said of Wittmers. “She’s one of the most selfless players out there. She’s amazing. But Langley and Kadence have done an amazing job (as captain) as well.”

Peninsula’s team remains close outside of volleyball, too. They’re comfortable with each other to the point where no conversation is uncomfortable. There’s a “surreal” energy this season, Stoddard said. They’re well aware of their potential, and there’s a team-wide agreement that a run in the state tournament is the ultimate goal.

The Seahawks are 11-0, but what was their cleanest, all-around best team win? Langley said a 3-0 win against North Thurston on Sept. 30 showcased their best start-to-finish victory with immediate energy. Stoddard nodded her head in agreement.

That was nearly a month ago, but in the five league games since, Peninsula has lost one set.

“There’s intentional focus,” Cardinal said. “And I think with the game of volleyball, you can get lost in the beauty of it. You can get lost in the spiral. We’re playing with intent on every contact, and teaching the girls that you have a role in every contact and every play.

“And that’s been the difference in the success, is knowing that your one touch on the ball can determine our point value.”

Peninsula has a chance to finish with the first undefeated regular season in school history. If the Seahawks take down Capital Thursday, their focus would shift to a meeting with North Thurston on Tuesday.

They’re two games away, and already have wins against both remaining opponents this season.

“That’s what’s been driving us,” Stoddard said. “We all know we have the potential to win. It’s just a matter of ‘can we do it?’ The circumstances? Screw the circumstances.

“Can we do it? It’s been on all of our minds.”

This story was originally published October 29, 2021 at 5:00 AM.