Geoff Mott
Sports Scene
ST. LOUIS – As a freshman playing varsity during the St. Louis volleyball team’s run to a runner-up finish at the Class C state finals in 2010, Brooke Tubbs couldn’t fully grasp the magnitude of what happened.
“At that time, I didn’t really know what was going on,” Tubbs said. “I realized that we lost, but I couldn’t understand the significance of it. Now it’s hitting me that that was one of my best times, and I want to go back.
“I’m going to push my team as hard as I can, and hopefully we can win a championship this time.”
Tubbs is one of five veteran seniors who has her eyes on volleyball’s top prize of a state championship. With Tubbs as a four-year starter and four girls returning as three-year starters, the Sharks are preparing for a long playoff run.
“I think we’re doing pretty good right now,” Tubbs said. “We started really strong and then had a little lull a couple weeks ago. But we’re picking it back up and continuing to improve. That’s what we need to keep on doing.”
Tubbs is a 5’7″ outside hitter who joins fellow senior outside hitter Bri Alspaugh. St. Louis coach Gary Stanglewicz describes both all-staters as “dynamic.”
“Brooke is a smart girl – she wants to go play at Alma College and study pre-med,” Stanglewicz said. “She jumps high, hits hard, and is very fast. She goes full speed and wants every hit to be a kill and every serve to be an ace. She goes so hard.
“Bri is also dynamic in that she jumps well and hits hard. She can jump off one leg and is a real solid kid. When she blocks, those balls fly back hard. You have to put your helmets on when you play those kids.”
After two years of varsity play at the libero position, senior Michaela Austin has made a smooth transition to setter.
“She’s done a great job,” Stanglewicz said. “You’d look at her and wouldn’t even think this is her first year as a setter.”
Amanda Eajena, a 5’5″ senior, also adds athleticism with a 27-inch vertical jump.
“She plays a lot taller and is a great defensive player,” Stanglewicz said.
Kenya House rounds out the veteran group of seniors with her always-dependable play.
“She’s a control player,” Stanglewicz said. “She’s a big server, she’s steady, and she keeps the ball in play. You like a player who does those kinds of things on a consistent basis.”
The Sharks spent all summer preparing for the season. They took one week off after school let out in the spring and then it was back to the weight room.
“The bar is set pretty high here,” Alspaugh said. “Coach has told us teams are excited to play us and that’s the case. They want to see how they can do against us.
“I don’t feel pressure with it. It’s a regular feeling, but we don’t worry because we know what we’re doing out there.”
Alspaugh was born in Traverse City but moved to St. Louis at an early age. She’s always participated in volleyball but didn’t realize that the St. Louis program is a perennial powerhouse at the state level.
“In my eighth grade year, I started to realize that volleyball is pretty important in St. Louis,” said Alspaugh, who hopes to play collegiate volleyball. “I tried for varsity as a freshman and Brooke made it, but coach said I wasn’t quite ready for varsity. That spring I played AAU as a setter and libero and that really got me going.
“I was ready my sophomore year to contribute.”
The senior-laden group has bought into everything Stanglewicz’s St. Louis program offers. Now it’s state title or bust.
“We’ve spent three years together and we are a pretty close-knit group,” Tubbs said. “We like to do a lot of things together and we hold each other accountable for a lot of things we do. We make the changes necessary to get better.
“We help each other out without yelling or friction and it helps.”