Leading the squad

Katie Davidson has a knack for taking control.

As a senior on the Coeur d’Alene High School varsity volleyball team, she was spotted early in the year for her confidence and control on the court, said varsity coach Carly Curtis. The team didn’t vote for captains, but Curtis said the 5-foot-5-inch Davidson has been leading the squad all year.

“She’s definitely one of our leaders,” Curtis said. “They lead by example as well as by attitude.”

As the setter, Davidson calls the sets and the offensive moves. She needs to know her hitters and where to put the ball on each play.

Curtis said personality is key with setters and confidence is a must.

“If they’re not confident, it just doesn’t work out,” she said. “They need to be able to be loud and tell a person what they need to do.”

She said Davidson’s court presence is one of her greatest strengths. Her voice lets teammates know she’ll do whatever it takes to get the ball their way and warns other teams that she’ll get the job done.

Davidson started playing soccer in kindergarten and stuck with it for five years, then tried gymnastics for two years before setting her sights on volleyball.

She tried out in eighth grade and made the A-2 team before moving up to the A-1 team.

“I saw a little natural ability in myself and I developed a love for the game since then,” Davidson said.

As her love for volleyball grew, she spent more time practicing and joined the North Idaho Volleyball Association club during her junior and sophomore years to play during the off-season. She plans to try her hand at golf or pole vaulting this fall.

Davidson has the most contact with the ball and gets the most guff if things don’t go right. But she enjoys the pressure and uses it to keep the team spirits high.

Curtis said she’s the kind of player that works hard, does her best and is never down.

“Attitudes spread quickly, and if someone is down, it spreads rather fast,” she said. “Then everyone’s kind of down.”

At practice, Davidson grabs a ball and starts setting without distraction and tunes in to her teammates’ skills rather than the daily gossip. She comes to the court with a positive attitude and the drive to make each play work, Curtis said.

Sometimes, Davidson takes control during practice and calls out to run drills until the they fall in place.

“I think I have a part of a perfectionist in me,” she said. “I like to get the job done right and well. If one way is not working, then I’d like to try something that will.”

Davidson said college-level play has been a goal since freshmen year, and she’s working with Curtis to reach schools on the East Coast.

“She doesn’t have the best hands in the league, or the most accurate set, but she is one who will hustle to every ball and get it to the hitters on each play,” Curtis said.

Davidson averages 24 assists per game, an ace per match and more than seven digs per match.

The team is second in the league with 17 wins and 11 losses heading into the district competitions, which began Tuesday.

But with a teammate down with an ankle injury, the pressure is on Davidson to lead the team to state, Curtis said.

“I just want everybody to go out there and play with their hearts,” Davidson said. “That’s all you can ask.”