SEQUIM — Sequim’s Alyse Armstrong was raised on a steady diet of volleyball.
A left-hander, Armstrong’s standout play this season as a setter and an “opposite” on the right-side, or weak side, of the volleyball court helped propel a well-rounded Sequim team to within one game of the state tournament.
It also garnered Armstrong the All-Peninsula Volleyball MVP as determined by a poll of area coaches and Peninsula Daily News sports staff.
Family game
Armstrong’s mom, Darlene, currently an assistant coach for Port Angeles (more on that later), was a volleyball coach in Las Vegas, and Alyse Armstrong was active in the sport from an early age in Police Athletic League play.
When her family moved to Wells, Nev., a town of about 1,200 people, Armstrong was a no-brainer selection for the small Wells High School varsity team during her freshman and sophomore years, while also participating in club volleyball.
“Everything,” Armstrong responds when asked what keeps her coming out for the sport.
“It’s never gotten boring, never been monotonous. There are so many things to learn, and so many to perfect.”
Another move, this time to Sequim, was harder to handle but was smoothed over by her play with the Wolves varsity team.
A solid student, Armstrong took advantage of online Running Start classes through Peninsula College.
She lacked the opportunity to grow a new social network with no classes at the high school and no interaction in her virtual college classroom.
“It was really hard coming here,” Armstrong said.
“I never had classes at the school. I came to volleyball practice and went home because I was doing all online classes.
“A lot of people took me in. The volleyball team helped me be able to make some new friends.”
Having a versatile player like Armstrong show up for practice was a boon for Sequim coach Jennie Webber-Heilman.
“She had so much volleyball experience, having lived in an area with more opportunity, even though she did live in a very small town in Wells,” Heilman said.
This season, the 5-foot-9 Armstrong, along with fellow Sequim captains and classmates Emily Wallner and Emma LeBlanc, were voted to the All-Olympic League first team.
Armstrong’s ability as a lefty to make Sequim’s weak side a strong side spurred a move by LeBlanc to the defensive specialist position of libero, where LeBlanc was voted Defensive MVP by Olympic League coaches.
“Alyse is a lefty, and we haven’t had a whole lot of lefties in our program,” Webber Heilman said.
“When they hit opponents have to block them differently, which can create an advantage.
“Her knowledge of the game, her ability to set, hit, a tough serve, and she knows where to position herself on defense all made her really well-rounded.”
A tough finish in a loser-out, winner-to-state game hurt, but didn’t dull the shine on the Wolves’ successful season, the best by any school the North Olympic Peninsula other than Class 1B state participants Quilcene and Neah Bay.
“We didn’t get as far as we hoped but it was a pretty good run,” Armstrong said.
“We had six seniors and we made a push to play hard and play together.
“Having such a large group of seniors really know what they were doing on the court helped to bolster the roster and make things successful and fun.”
Armstrong believed the experienced and deep team’s best quality was how well they worked with each other.
“I really liked our team’s dynamic this year,” Armstrong said, describing the team’s relationship as “fun and compatible.”
Sequim (15-7) went toe-to-toe in a five-set match with North Kitsap, which would go on to win the Olympic League and finish second at the state tournament.
The Wolves also swept Port Angeles, with Armstrong getting in a not-so-subtle dig at her mom’s coaching position with the rival Roughriders.
Darlene Armstrong is a health teacher at Port Angeles High School and Alyse’s dad Troy is a human resources administrator for the school district.
“I called her out on senior night when we did our little speaker things,” Alyse Armstrong said.
“Something like, ‘My mom is here, she’s a traitor.”
But the elder Armstrong also is a supporter of one of the most skilled volleyball players on the North Olympic Peninsula.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-452-2345, ext. 5250 or at mcarman@peninsuladailynews.com.
