"I Didn't See That Coming"

David Mamet explains that according to Aristotle, narrative ending is 'surprising yet inevitable'. 

Each season, three hundred to five hundred kills "walk out the door" with graduation. "Oh, woe is us," until the next outside hitters and others step up to fill the void. Paraphrasing, "Sadie Jaggers isn't walking through that door next season." 

Last season's "I didn't see that coming" was Manon Marchais filling the middle hitter role because of injury. Clearly, Coach Scott Celli saw that as a possibility, negotiating the switch.

Who is the 2024 libero with the graduation of Grace Gentile? Nobody knows. There's a strong returning cast of possibility including Maggie Turner, Gigi Albuja, Anna Burns, and others who could play all-around. 

Where do the outside hitter attacks arise? You can't fool children, dogs, and volleyball players. When opportunity appears in plain sight, contenders arrive in abundance. The past two seasons, the kills came from players (Gia Vlajkovic, Sadie Jaggers) who played a different position the previous season. 

Who seizes the 'designated server' position? 

Sometimes a varsity role player undergoes a metamorphosis to a volleyball butterfly. Or a freshman or JV player becomes a force just as Kayla Wyland did over a decade ago. When opportunity knocks, kick the door down. 

Show up better, bigger, faster, stronger. Be the player whom coaches see and say, "I didn't see that coming." 

Lagniappe. Effort. 

Lagniappe 2. Be possible.