Federal Way Eagles open fourth straight volleyball season with win

Published 3:30 pm Friday, September 9, 2016

Federal Way Eagles volleyball coach Donja Walker isn’t used to losing. But wins have been hard to come by in recent years for the decorated coach’s program.

The Eagles got off to an impressive start to the new season though, dominating during their 3-1 win Tuesday against the Chief Sealth Seahawks to win their fifth consecutive season opener since Walker took over the program in 2009.

But Walker said it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish the season. And Walker, who is a 4A state volleyball champion and a Western Washington standout herself, admitted that the road to molding a winning program has been bumpy the last few years.

“In the past we’ve had a lot of liberos that we’ve kind of had to move around and try to make into an outside hitter,” Walker said. “But this year we finally have the hitters and girls with a lot of height to mix in with solid defense. And it’s been really helpful.”

Because the last few seasons have been a struggle, Walker said it was time Federal Way took a step back and started from the basics. As part of that, over the summer, Walker and her coaches loaded the team into a bus and headed to a familiar home for Walker — Bellingham — for the Western Washington University Vikings’ annual volleyball team camp.

Walker said the goal for the long, two-hour bus ride was team bonding: getting to know each member on a deeper level in the hopes the learned outcomes make a difference on the court.

Walker said Federal Way’s biggest challenge entering the season was managing its visible reactions when a set is lost or things don’t go in the Eagles’ favor, and Walker said she hopes the Vikings camp helped.

“We’re just so afraid of failing,” Walker said. “Whenever they get into a situation where they ‘fail’ they get really hard on themselves. And being there we learned, and are still learning, that it’s OK to make mistakes in volleyball.

“You’re going to make mistakes in this game. We continue to learn it’s more about what you do after the mistake is made that’s important instead of dwelling on it.”

In addition to skills instruction, the camp at Western Washington also emphasized team building. The Eagles went through “self-assessments” that they then share with the rest of the team.

Walker said the goal was for each member of the team to learn about the others, which would manifest as improved communication on the court.

As fate would have it, the Eagles’ “fear of failure” was tested from the moment the second set against Chief Sealth began. After a dominant first set, which the Eagles took 25-20, they fell behind 14-9 in the second set.

While Federal Way went on an 8-3 run to catch the Seahawks at 17, Walker said it was clear the Eagles were unable to mentally recover from the early deficit. They eventually dropped the set 25-23.

“We need to keep talking,” Walker urged during the timeout after the loss. “We make a mistake, we shut down and stop talking. You have to communicate to be successful. They’re not making the mistakes, it’s us. Keep talking. If you make a mistake, you can’t stop talking.”

Walker’s message was loud and clear.

Federal Way’s talking got louder and the play got better. The team rolled Chief Sealth 25-8 in set three and closed out the match with a 25-21 win in the final set.

Eagles duo Sydney Saniao and Talaitupu Lologo combined to lead the team with a combined 12 kills and 18 digs, while Molly Saeda led the way with 15 assists. Carly Michaels added three service aces.

While winning its opener has become the norm for Federal Way, winning league games is a different story. Since the 2013 season, the Eagles have just four league wins to their credit.

North Puget Sound League play begins 7 p.m. Tuesday as Federal Way travels to Kennedy Catholic. Walker said she believes the NPSL is one of the toughest leagues in the state.

If Walker and the 2016 Eagles are going to change the perception of Federal Way volleyball, the change has to start with communication.

“We’re trying a lot of new things with the offensive side of things,” Walker said. “We’re also going to reflect a little on this game, that second set, and see how we can continue to communicate better.”