The future is now

Published 12:00 am Sunday, June 23, 2019

Last year Catholic High head volleyball coach Gary Westcott moved two freshmen up to varsity because he felt they could contribute at that level.

Turned out that Hannah Maturin and Sydnee Raheem did more than just contribute, they distinguished themselves as the future of CHS volleyball.

“We had an injury to one of our starters and I moved Hannah up from the freshmen team mainly because we had a need,” Westcott said. “She came in midseason and finished the season for us.

“It was funny because last year Sydnee played right side and Hannah was forced to play the middle. Now this season they are both are going to play middle for us which actually gives us more options this season than last season.”

Westcott said that last year, Raheem and Maturin were basically the third option on Catholic High’s attack. With the 2019 season just two months away, both have moved to the middle and can become the first option in the offense.

“They are both going to play the middle and both will rotate in,” Westcott said. “Hannah could actually end up playing all around because she probably the most athletic middle in the state.”

How Westcott ended up with two underclassmen in the middle came about because of  the offense that he prefers to run.

In Westcott’s attack, the right side of the offense doesn’t usually serve and since both Maturin and Raheem are great servers, the CHS coach said that it was easy to move the duo to the middle.

“Both are athletic and I like and athletic middle,” he said. “They both can handle it.”

With Maturin and Raheem adding their talents to protect the middle and with Madison Bienvenu and Abigail Richthofen returning from last season to patrol the left side and up and coming Cameron Schwing on the right side, Westcott is excited about how his team looks for the upcoming season.

“If we can clean up serve receive a little bit and our setters get a little more experience and it all comes together, we’re going to be tough offensively,” the CHS coach said. 

It can be hard for a coach to bring in freshmen to play at the varsity level, but the CHS duo accepted the challenge last year and did well.

“We kind of threw them into the fire last season and the played well,” Westcott said. “They had ups-and-downs because they were freshmen and they were both raw. But both of them played club (volleyball) this year and the improvement is like night and day.

“Mentally, I think they are both ready for the challenge and they are both coachable kids. They are both smart. They know when to hit, when to tip, when to swing away, when to block. In fact, they were my leading blockers last year.”

Maturin is ready for the challenge.

“I’m really excited,” she said. “As a team we grew a lot from last year from losing our three seniors and I think because os that we have to step up our game and we’re coming in hot.”

Maturin said that last year was very nerve-wracking for her because she was a freshman playing varsity.

“I was the freshman playing varsity,” Maturin said. “I had to look out for everyone else because if I made a mistake it was going to be my fault.

“But it turned out to be the opposite. When I made a mistake, everyone was there to support me and then on the next point, I’d slam it into the ground.”

What helped also was that Maturin didn’t have the weight of everything fall on her shoulders as a freshman.

“I think in the end I did really good as a freshman on varsity,” she said. “And from last year to this year I’ve definitely improved.”

Raheem feels that her freshman year was a success even though it was in her terms….”very scary.”

“I’m the young one playing with the varsity,” Raheem said. “Everyone is older and better because they have experience and you feel like that you don’t know what to do.”

Raheem felt that her best asset last year as the ability to connect with the older players and the fact that she could get up and block the ball.

Now as her sophomore year approaches, Raheem is excited to be able to play.

“I’ve already experienced varsity and I know how it works,” she said. “I think this year we’re going to do better than last year because I know what to expect.”

Westcott is looking forward to the future with his talented and athletic duo.

“I know that I have three more years with them but I feel that this year everything is going to click for them and they will give us another option,” Westcott said.