Freeman volleyball team has thrived in adversity

You wouldn’t necessarily call Eva Windlin-Jansen a gambler, but she does believe in chance.

It’s a belief she spells out across the back of her Freeman High School warm-up T-shirts:

There Is No Chance If You Don’t Take It.

That sentiment spells out the kind of volleyball program the coach wants her squad to be: a group willing to take the chance. In other words: Dare to be Great.

“It’s amazing to me how quickly young kids adapt to a challenge,” the coach explained. “They can surprise you how well they can meet a challenge.”

A year ago the Scotties were stretched beyond their normal boundaries. The school’s teams were barred from their usual practice facilities while Freeman High School was rebuilt. When students arrived for the first day of class, the only building that still stood from the facility they left just three months earlier was the gymnasium, and it was in the middle of a construction zone and inaccessible.

“With all that happened last year, the kids did a terrific job of coping and adapting,” Windlin-Jansen said. “I don’t think anyone expected us to do much last year and we wound up exceeding expectations and going to state.”

In some ways, she said, those outside challenges worked to bring her team closer together and strengthened them as a team.

“It was definitely a shared struggle,” she said. “And when you share an experience like that, it’s a good thing.”

This year’s squad has a leg up on expectations, finishing 19th at the annual Crossover Classic tournament last weekend. The Scotties placed higher than such Greater Spokane League schools as Gonzaga Prep, University, Shadle Park, North Central, Lewis and Clark and Central Valley, Columbia Basin-Big Nine schools Walla Walla, Southridge, Kamiakin and Pasco, defending state Class 2A power Pullman, West Valley (seventh-place state finisher a year ago) and Colville (eighth-place).

“I really like bringing my team to tournaments like this one,” she said after her charges dropped their tournament opener Friday night, falling to Lewis and Clark, but forcing the Class 4A Tigers into a third and deciding set. “I like having them play teams that are bigger and better than they are – I think it makes you better when you have to play them. I like having them play teams that have a different style of play than what they play in our league. And I think it definitely gets you ready to face the challenges you face if you get to state.”

If that first game is any indication, the Scotties have no fear of any team.

Down 24-20 in the first game, the team used an ace and a pair of service winners to get to 24-23 before giving the game away with a bad serve.

In game two, Freeman traded shots with the Tigers, pulling ahead 13-9 early. The Scotties then went on a run to take an 18-9 advantage, then to 21-11. The hosts trailed 24-13 before making a run of their own, fighting back to make it 24-21 when the Scotties finally scored game point.

“I think we did a great job in making our runs, but then we let down a little and let them make a run right back at us,” Windlin-Jansen said.

“We’re still a little young and we have to learn how to close teams out a little better. But I’m very happy with the way we played.”

Happy, too, with the play of her daughter, Maya, a junior hitter on loan to the Scotties. Well, maybe not a loan, exactly.

Maya Jansen currently is ranked among the Top 25 junior tennis players in the nation and is the top-ranked female in the Pacific Northwest. She’s orally committed to playing tennis for the University of Virginia after she graduates in 2011.

“The only time I don’t play tennis during the year is when I take three months off to play volleyball,” she said. “I enjoy playing volleyball and I love my teammates. It’s a good break for me.”

The Windlin-Jansen family generally is divided between the two sports. Andy Jansen is a sought-after tennis coach and the family’s four daughters all play. Mom, meanwhile, is an equally accomplished volleyball coach who was born in Switzerland, played at the University of Oregon and was head coach at Gonzaga University before stepping down after the 2001 season.

“We try to balance between the two sports,” the coach insists. Her daughter concurs.

“I think we all love both sports and I think the two have a lot in common,” Maya said. “I know that playing so much tennis allows me to see the whole (volleyball) court better, and hitting a volleyball and hitting a tennis ball involve a lot of the same technique.”

Jansen is a master at imparting backspin on her spikes and it is rare when one of her hits does not have significant movement – making it difficult for opponents to dig.

Freeman closes out the regular season this week with a home game against Colville on Tuesday and Lakeside on Thursday. The Scotties’ lone loss going into the Crossover Tourney was to Colville in a Northeast A League game.