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[I wrote the feature story for the volleyball athlete of the year for the Statesman. I interviewed Madi on Dec. 9.]

Madi Cavell of McNary is the Statesman Journal’s volleyball athlete of the year
By Lee Clarkson
Statesman Journal
December 12, 2010

To Madi Cavell, volleyball is about more than just winning.

The McNary High senior feels that having fun and building a positive atmosphere through team chemistry are keys to success.

“Having fun is really important to me,” Cavell said. “I feel like when volleyball stops being fun for me is when I’ll stop succeeding at it.”

Cavell and her teammates had plenty of success this season.

The Celtics won the Central Valley Conference title with a 10-0 record and placed sixth at the OSAA Class 6A state tournament.

Individually, Cavell was named CVC player of the year and was a second team all-tournament selection at state. She has been named Statesman Journal All-Mid-Valley volleyball athlete of the year.

“Our goal was to get to state and to come home with a trophy,” Cavell said. “And we did that.

“I knew coming in it was going to be fun, but our team pulled together. It was just really cool to see our team chemistry.”

After running the table in league, the Celtics defeated South Medford and Barlow to advance to the state tournament at Liberty High School in Hillsboro.

The win against Barlow, a come-from-behind road victory, was a highlight for Cavell because McNary showed its resilience.

“It was a fight,” Cavell said of the Barlow match, which the Celtics won 3-2. “It was just sort of grueling. Everybody at the end was almost collapsing.

“Once we won that game, we were like, ‘oh my gosh, we’re going to state.’ “

At the state tournament, McNary fell 3-0 to Jesuit in the quarterfinals. The Celtics rebounded to sweep Oregon City in the consolation semifinals before losing 3-1 to Gresham in the fourth-place match.

McNary coach Dustin Walker made sure the team’s expectations for the season were high, even if outsiders doubted them.

“They didn’t even pick us to win the league,” Walker said. “Outside of our little world here, I think a lot of people were surprised, but to be honest, we weren’t.”

This season provided Cavell, traditionally a front row hitter and blocker, with a new challenge: she had never played back row before.

“This was my first year playing all the way around and that was so much fun,” Cavell said. “I feel like I learned and tried really hard to improve.”

Walker noted how well Cavell adapted to a new back row skill, receiving serves.

“She was our top serve receive player,” Walker said. “That’s pretty impressive, especially being her senior year playing back row (for the first time) on a varsity level.”

With her high school career behind her, Cavell will continue to play club volleyball. She is currently in her first year playing for the Webfoot Volleyball Club in Eugene.

One of the things that drew Cavell to Webfoot was what she saw while facing them in previous years — she saw a team that was successful and had fun at the same time.

Cavell will use the club season to prepare for next fall.

“I’ll be doing weight lifting and speed and agility and that type of stuff because I want to be prepared for whatever next fall has for me,” Cavell said.

Cavell is still weighing her collegiate options.

“I may end up walking on somewhere, or going on academic scholarship,” Cavell said. “There’s just a lot of ifs right now.”

Wherever she lands, volleyball will be part of the equation.

“Volleyball is huge part of my life,” Cavell said. “I really want to keep it a part of my life, whether it’s playing on a club team or playing for a school team. My goal is definitely to play for (a) school team.”

Walker, who coached Cavell for three years at McNary, says whichever school she chooses will get a leader and an athlete with strong potential.

“The kids look to her as a leader,” Walker said. “I mean, she’s a vocal leader, the kids look to her to be an emotional leader. Her leadership skills were something that our team, we needed.

“She’s still maturing and growing into her body and she’s going to keep developing, so colleges are going to see that as an opportunity to take a player that’s still growing and still molding and still has a ton of potential and room to improve.”

Cavell also has intangibles that Walker believes will serve her well in the future.

“One thing you have to know about Madi is that she has the best attitude,” Walker said. “She’s the most positive kid that I’ve seen in a long time. She’s always up … she’s always positive.”

Cavell talked about the Celtics volleyball program as she reflected on her high school career.

“I just love the program,” Cavell said. “It’s really sort of like having a family. I just think it’s so cool having that sort of built-in family feel.”

While volleyball has brought Cavell success, it has also provided lessons that extend beyond the court.

“I just feel like volleyball in general has taught me a lot,” Cavell said. “Not just on the court, but about having a good attitude and just making the most out of every interaction.

“I feel like it’s helped develop me as a person and a player.”

lclarkson@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6700

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