Campolindo Girls Volleyball Preview: Core Seniors Lead Cougars

School: Campolindo

Sport: Girls' Volleyball

Coach: Scott Bishop

2009 record: 24-9

Key returners: Abbie Noland, senior, outside hitter; Kim Condie, senior, defensive specialist; Sophie Smith, senior, defensive specialist; Mary Vaccaro, senior, setter/outside hitter. 

Top newcomers: Cassidy Abel, sophomore, defensive specialist. 

Quote: "We took some big hits as far as losing great players, but I expect we'll be back at the same level. We have what it takes to make a playof run." -coach Scott Bishop

Website:  http://www.isaacs.org/campovbw/Index.html

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For Campolindo High volleyball captains Abbie Noland and Kim Condie, the preparation for this season began four years ago. Noland and Condie lead a group of seven seniors, including a core group of four who have been playing varsity since they were freshmen. 

"We've been playing and working together for so long," Noland said. "We're a very mature team. We know what to expect from each other, and we've built up a confidence in each other."

That confidence has been built over three consecutive trips to the North Coast section playoffs. Last season, the Cougars finished second in the Diablo Foothill Athletic League with a 24-9 record and lost to Sir Francis Drake in the second round of the NCS playoffs. They lost four seniors from that team, but return talent at all positions.

"We took some big hits as far as losing great players, but I expect that we'll be back at the same level," Campolindo coach Scott Bishop said. "We have what it takes to make a playoff run."

Key to any playoff run will be senior Mary Vaccaro. Vaccaro, who plays beach volleyball for the United State U-19 national team, returns to the Cougars' lineup after taking two years off from high school volleyball.

"She's an extraordinary talent, but she's also an extremely hard worker," Campolindo coach Scott Bishop said of Vaccaro. "She's vocal, and she's selfless, and she's really a leader on this team."

Between Vaccaro, his captains, and the Cougars' other seniors, Bishop expects his team to have no shortage of veteran leadership.

"You always expect great leadership from your seniors, and having so many, it's really going to help," Bishop said. "I know they'll work hard. I know they'll provide leadership. I know they're a really hungry group."

How hungry?

"If we could win the league, or if we could win NCS, it would mean absolutely everything," Condie said. "All four years, all of the three-hour practices, all of the hard work it, it would make all of it worth it."

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