Wildcats teammates share interests in sports, life

Among the nine Mt. Spokane High School volleyball seniors who have helped the Wildcats to a 7-3 start in the Greater Spokane League this fall are two who share more than one sport as their athletic interest and who have been best friends for the past five years.

Lauren Schneidmiller and Erica Ziegler are pole vaulters in the spring and buddies all-year round, exemplifying the connection among coach John Reid’s players that has resulted in an unprecedented level of success at Mt. Spokane during the past two seasons.

A year ago, the Wildcats’ season ended one match short of the state tournament, and both girls, along with their senior teammates, are determined to get over that hump this season.

“This is our last chance to make it to state,” said Schneidmiller, who’s an outside hitter. “The whole GSL is pretty close this year, so we always need to come out thinking we need to play hard to win no matter whom it’s against.”

“We’ve been playing together for so long that we play pretty well together,” Ziegler said of her teammates. “Now we just have to play well together when it counts.”

She estimates that as many as seven of the nine Mt. Spokane seniors have been playing together since they began playing in fifth grade, so over time they’ve developed strong relationships, as with Schneidmiller and her.

“It wasn’t like that at the beginning,” she said, “but eventually we developed a really good connection with each other.”

The two do everything together; aside from volleyball and vaulting, they snowboard, wakeboard, jet-ski, shop and hunt.

Reid is enthusiastic about both girls.

“Lauren is like another daughter to me,” he said. “She’s a gifted athlete who’s had some physical problems because of her involvement in high-impact sports. This year, it’s been so far, so good after she had some issues last season.

“Her knees are sacred to us. They’re pretty fragile, and she’s going to need surgery after she graduates. But she’s improved her strength in the last year.

“She had an older sister in the program, but Lauren has made her own mark, and she’s responsible for her own success. She’s high-spirited and fun to coach. When there’s a challenge, she focuses on her teammates and not on herself, and as a result her teammates see her as a real go-to player.”

When the subject shifts to his setter Ziegler, he talks about the benefit of her experience and success in other sports.

“She’s a player I want on the floor in the tough spots,” he said. “It’s not just that she’s very spirited and a leader, but she’s extremely competitive in part because of her experience in gymnastics and track.

“Her gymnastics experience, for example, taught her a lot about body control, and so when she’s on the volleyball court, she does some things that other kids can’t do. I can’t coach that experience. And she knows how to win.”

Ziegler has finished fifth in the pole vault in the state 4A championship meet the past two seasons, and has her sights set on 11 feet, 9 inches in the spring. She’s not sure where she’ll be next year but knows that she plans to continue vaulting.

Schneidmiller will be studying fashion design at the Art Institute of Seattle after she graduates.

“I’ve always liked fashion. I’ve been drawing dresses since I was little.”

It’ll be very different for the two once they move on from Mt. Spokane but, as Ziegler says, “We’ll talk every day anyway. It’ll be hard, I’m sure, but it’ll be nice to meet new people too.”