Artichokes want their chance to defend title
A year ago, they forged forever friendships. They were freshmen at Scottsdale Community College working toward a magical 2019 volleyball season.
They ended up being a part of a turnaround year from a five-win 2018 season to winning 29 matches, finishing on a 26-match win streak that gave SCC the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II women’s volleyball championship.
They couldn’t wait to get back together, start working, go for another national title.
But now they’ve been separated by a pandemic since March and pray that the Maricopa County Community College District will not take the recommendation from the 10 schools’ presidents to suspend the entire 2020-21 sports year.
They talk and cry and try to believe something will turn in their favor to get them all back on the court together this fall.
Two weeks ago, 10 MCCCD presidents all recommended that not just the fall but the entire 2020-21 sports year be suspended because of coronavirus cases that continue to spike in Arizona.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the district will hold virtual public forums for anybody who wants their voices heard.
Will the 16,000-plus signatures the athletes helped get in a change.org online petition help? Will their pleas that they will do anything, even wear masks during matches, change anybody’s mind and keep the season?
They know they’ve got an uphill climb, because not many people pay attention to junior college sports.
“I am aware that COVID is a real thing,” said Shelby Naber, a sophomore setter. “All of us are super willing to make changes. Any way to get us in the gym. We’re all willing to make changes.”
When they first heard of the recommended cancellation of the sports year, they felt blindsided. This coming after the NJCAA announced plans to move forward with the fall sports seasons with workouts in the beginning of August.
“When it first came out, my first response was just in shock,” said Madi Harris, a 6-foot-2 middle blocker from Peoria. “I didn’t know how to take it. After our chat room meeting was over, we were devastated. We cried over it. We were upset with everything that happened. We felt blindsided.
“Two days prior, the NJCAA said we could resume to normal activities starting in August.”
They know the district is concerned about the pandemics and the spike in people testing positive.
But they’re not going to go down without a fight to keep their season.
They’ve been trying to work out on their own just in case they have their season, but outside hitter Kaiessa Sounart, who is from Chandler, says it is hard to keep motivated.
“Just these last two months alone, we’d be back on the track at 6 in the morning every day, training,” Sounart said, if there was no pandemic. “We were doing workouts separately. We’re a family to each other. Being away from them has been hard. When you don’t have your teammates, it’s hard to get to the that same level as last year.
“I know it’s tough to get to where I was last year on my own. Our team last year was all freshmen and one sophomore. Now we’re all going to be sophomores. We were all super excited. We were thinking we could get a second title.”
The other concern is how recruiting is being impacted. Will the NJCAA grant them another year of eligibility? Can they use this season as a redshirt?
But, for Sounart, with her major, she said she won’t have any more classes to take, unless she was moved on to a four-year college next school year.
“I’ll have taken all I can with my major (at SCC),” she said. “I’d have to find a four-year to continue with my major.”
They’re all willing to make sacrifices to make this fall season work. That includes wearing masks during games, washing hands during breaks, and staying at least six feet apart in the locker room and during breaks.
“I know before the gyms were closed, I would wear a mask while working out,” Sounart said. “That’s a way to stop the spread. If they mandated it in volleyball, I would do it.”
Harris added, “I think we’d all be willing to wear a mask if that would give us a season.”