GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: Notre Dame Prep’s Kathleen Carlson wins Miss Volleyball
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.Stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @Local SportsFans
PONTIAC — When she entered Pontiac Notre Dame Prep as a freshman, Kathleen Carlson had big dreams of success on the volleyball court. She never dreamed that it would culminate with such a storybook of awards.
Carlson, a 5-foot-11 senior outside hitter, added to her impressive resume Monday afternoon when was named Michigan’s Miss Volleyball for the 2014 season by the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball with Valparaiso Coaches Association, emerging from a heap of eight talented candidates.
“I never thought that this would be possible, “ smiled Carlson, who became NDP’s second Miss Volleyball winner. Molly Coldren was the other honoree in 2007.
Carlson received 177 votes, ahead of runner-up Katie Placek of Traverse City West (116 points). Temperance-Bedford’s Nicole Rightnowar (110), North Branch’s Laura Wilson (91) and Farmington Hills Mercy’s Jenna Lerg (91) rounded out the top five in the balloting.
Carlson cracked the starting lineup late in her freshman campaign and was All-State First Team Class B as both a sophomore and junior. The talented Carlson also earned All-America honors by MaxPreps.com last season amongst numerous postseason accolades.
Carlson recently signed her letter of intent with Valparaiso University after being recruited by numerous other Division I schools, including Notre Dame, Western Michigan, George Washington and Duke, among others.
“She’s even a better person than she is a volleyball player,” admitted veteran Notre Dame Prep volleyball coach softball coach and athletics director Betty Wroubel. “She’s such humble kid, a great person. You never see her down on the volleyball court, always positive. She leads by example.
“Kathleen is so fluid out there,” continued Wroubel. “She does everything out there so well. She can hit from the middle, from the right side, from the left side, she can serve, play defense…she does it all as a volleyball player. She’s the complete package for a high school volleyball player.”
Carlson, who currently carries a 4.37 GPA with advanced classes, played basketball and ran track her first two years at Notre Dame Prep before settling on volleyball the past two school years. She follows in the steps of her mom, Tanya Carlson, who was an All-State volleyball player in the winter 1988 and 1989 seasons at Pontiac Oakland Catholic (now Notre Dame Prep).
During Carlson’s freshman campaign, she was one of four ninth-graders on NDP’s varsity, which reached the reached the regional finals. Her sophomore year, the Irish won a regional crown and advanced to the state quarterfinals.
Last season a s a junior Carlson led Notre Dame Prep to its first Class B state title since 2007, and this year she has aided her team’s stellar 57-5-0 record and a berth in thursday’s Class B Final Four.
“It’s been a great adventure,” she said. “We’ve been working hard every day to get to our goal of getting back to the state finals. Our team chemistry and our passion for the game is paying off.”
“It’s been an amazing four years and we want to end it with another state championship,” continued Carlson, who also plays for the Legacy at the club level. “That’s what we have working towards.”
It all started with a dream. And for Kathleen Carlson, she is living that dream…from the viewpoint of the state’s top-rated prep volleyball player.
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