Page 62 October 2015 By Josh Cutlip It’s been four years since the last state finals appearance by the Arcadia girls varsity volleyball team, and since then, it’s been back to the drawing board. Head Coach Josh Olshan is entering his 17th year at Arcadia, as he is the second of only two head coaches in the team’s 46-year history. Olshan has coached for a total of 24 years, including two years of club and another five years at Peoria High School as the junior varsity and freshmen coach. Along with his playing experience at The University of Arizona, Olshan had a new perspective to bring to the not-so-successful Titans. “When I started, they had had a little bit of success, but they had never really gone far in the state tournament,” said Olshan. “We [had] made it to two state finals, but we had never made it to the [semifinals] before I got there.” Of course, with anything new, it takes practice. “I struggled my first few years, and I didn’t make state until my fifth year,” said Olshan. But he and the team eventually found their stride going on a run of six state semifinal appearances in six out of eight years. Today, Olshan is pleased with the depth of his team and hungry for another playoff appearance. With an almost identical team from last year (only two players are new to varsity), it’s hard not to be. “We have six seniors, five juniors and two sophomores. We were really young two years ago when we struggled, and we were pretty young last year,” said Olshan. “This is where the young ends. This is where we need to step up and mature, and be that competitive team.” Olshan mentioned that this year’s roster runs deep, and illustrated the fact when he shared his starting lineup isn’t finalized. “Everyone says, ‘Where’s your lineup?’ and I say, ‘I don’t know yet.’” According to Olshan, the extensive talent on his lineup can be great. “One of the advantages is if somebody gets hurt, we’ve easily got somebody who can step in and play..” He recalled a time last year in which one of his players got injured and he wasn’t prepared, “I’ll never make that mistake again.” As for players who are capable of stepping it up when the team needs them most, Olshan looks to his senior libero, Katy Tolson, as well as Kara Woodard. The big games they are looking forward to are against the rival Scottsdale school, Saguaro, and Flagstaff High School who defeated Arcadia in the 2011 state finals. Olshan, however, had only nice things to say about Flagstaff’s head coach as he is impressed with how she shaped such a small school into a powerhouse team. “I respect the Flagstaff coach more than you could possibly imagine, so I’m really excited to play her [team].” Girls volleyball looks to “ace” the competition Arcadia High School 2015 Varsity Volleyball

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