Karly Cantu a ‘can do’ player for Mt. Spokane

When Mt. Spokane’s volleyball team faces an emergency, the call goes out to Karly Cantu.

This season, her senior year, Cantu gave up her favorite position, libero, when projected setter Selena Styren tore her anterior cruciate ligament playing club ball.

“I knew I had to take that responsibility, even though I might not necessarily have wanted to,” Cantu said. “I knew I had to do it for my team.”

As a freshman and sophomore, Cantu was summoned when injuries sidelined the Wildcats’ starting setter. Her fill-in role included time at State 3A tournaments.

Cantu felt comfortable at setter, having trained there since elementary school, but as a junior she found her calling as a defensive specialist. The 5-foot-5 dynamo figured her best chance to play in college would be at libero.

The injury to Styren – who has recently been cleared to play – put Cantu back at setter.

“It came right back to me,” Cantu said. “There have been some struggles because I didn’t play it at all last year, but getting back into it, my coaches have definitely pushed me and I’ve pushed myself. And the team has helped me a lot, getting back into it.”

Coach Dave Whitehead knew his two-year captain would be valuable no matter where she played.

“A lot of it goes through Karly,” Whitehead said. “She’s all over the court. She’s a vocal leader. She … does a good job of keeping them focused and she’s in charge out there.”

Cantu took naturally to volleyball, following in the footsteps of her mother Melanie (Hoague), who played setter at Rogers.

“When I stepped on the court, it just fit me and just became a part of me,” Cantu said.

Cantu’s older brothers followed the baseball path of father Dan, owner of Cantu Commercial. Brandon, who also played football, graduated in 2004. Connor, who graduated last year, helped Mt. Spokane to third place at state after hitting a walk-off grand slam against Kennewick to send the Wildcats to the semifinals.

The entire Cantu family also enjoys golf. Karly played last spring for Mt. Spokane’s state championship team, the first team in Wildcats history to earn that honor.

But golf is a pleasant diversion for Cantu, whose first goal is to get the volleyball team back to state. The Wildcats have two chances to qualify, starting with Saturday’s 1 p.m. regional championship match against Kamiakin at Mt. Spokane.

“From the start (of the season) I knew our team was going to be special,” Cantu said. “I’m so proud of the way we’ve battled through a lot of games and just came together as a team.”

“I knew from the start this year that we had a chance to make it to state,” Whitehead said. “I really did.”

After the Mt. Spokane-Kamiakin title match, Shadle Park will meet Southridge at 3 p.m. in a loser-out. The winner will play the first-game loser at 5 for the second berth to state.