Freshman setter Kate Ohlsen excelling for LCCC
Sep. 7—CHEYENNE — Laramie County Community College volleyball coach Zach Shaver had additional setters he was recruiting, but he badly wanted to secure a commitment from Kate Ohlsen.
Shaver knew the 6-footer from Utah had several suitors and had a handful of recruiting visits lined up after she left LCCC's campus. The second-year Golden Eagles coach pulled out all the stops while recruiting Ohlsen.
Her play through the No. 19-ranked team's first 14 matches shows why Shaver was so high on her.
Ohlsen has dished out 380 assists, notched 117 digs and contributed to 22 blocks to help the Eagles go 12-2 heading into tonight's match with No. 6 Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado.
"We were one of her first visits, and sometimes that can be a good thing, and sometimes it can be a bad thing," Shaver said. "We stayed persistent because she was the setter we really wanted. We had backups plans if she signed somewhere else, but it all worked out the way we hoped."
Ohlsen was a three-year starter at Skyridge High in Lehi, Utah, where she helped the Falcons to a pair of third-place finishes at the state tournament. However, Ohlsen became so highly sought after based on what she did with Club V, a program she helped finish 11th in the Open Division at USA Volleyball's national tournament.
Ohlen credits her elite level club experience with helping her make a seamless transition to junior-college volleyball.
"I had super good coaches and super high-level players around me my whole club career," she said. "It pushed me to be better and got me used to playing at a high level. ... I got used to playing with a lot of different players.
"I had teammates who jumped higher, and some who were slower, and I had to get used to what everyone's abilities were and adjust to it."
Ohlsen played two years of recreational volleyball before she moved to the club level, seeking a greater challenge. She hadn't really played any specific position before, but was pointed to setter during her first club practice.
"I hadn't played a lot of volleyball before, so I wasn't going in wanting or expecting to be a setter, but I fell in love with it," Ohlsen said. "I love being able to touch the ball every time. Setter is a position of leadership, and you can take control of the court. What everyone else does is on you.
"That can be a super scary thing, or you can take it and embrace it. You can have the mentality of, 'This is my team, and I can make it better.'"
As much as Ohlsen enjoyed playing club volleyball and setter, she decided to take a year away from her club to explore other athletic and academic activities. She developed an affinity for softball, where she played first base, pitcher and catcher. Ohlsen found the leadership qualities necessary to be a good catcher comparable to the traits a good setter has to have.
"You don't get much glory playing setter or catcher, but those positions are so important in making the team run well," Ohlsen said.
Ohlsen's time exploring other interests made her realize how much she truly loved volleyball. She returned to the court following the one-year sabbatical, and has since developed into an elite setter.
"It's nice to have a setter out there who is playing with full confidence and knows what she's doing," LCCC sophomore outside hitter Demi Stauffenberg said. "She's a natural leader, and has played at a really strong club team. Those things show, and they help us hitters."
One of Ohlsen's strengths is figuring out weaknesses LCCC can exploit. She's also good at what Shaver describes as "going against the grain." When the natural flow of a point is leading to an attack on one side, Ohlsen can send a set to the opposite side that leaves a hitter virtually unblocked.
"She's even caught a couple of our hitters off-guard because they're not used to having a setter who can do that," Shaver said. "Blockers gravitate to where the flow is going, and (Ohlsen) can reverse directions. It's like a good baseball hitter who can take an outside pitch and go the opposite way or take an inside pitch and pull it.
"She can make the more difficult play because it's better for our team than taking the easy one."
Ohlsen's height also helps her get quick sets to middle blockers. The fraction of a second faster the ball arrives to an inside hitter can be the difference between scoring a point or hitting into the block.
As much as Ohlsen loves setting one of her teammates up for a thunderous kill, she enjoys dumping the ball into the middle of a defense that expected her to set to a teammate. Setter dumps can't be used often, but a well-timed dump into an unsuspecting defense can be demoralizing for the opposition.
"You don't want to do it in an obvious situation, but when it's a scramble situation and the other team isn't really paying attention, you can dump it for a kill," she said with a smile. "You have to keep your hands high and make it look like you're setting the ball so the defense doesn't know it's coming.
"Dumping might be my favorite thing about setting."
Ohlsen's height also helps her play a role in LCCC's blocking efforts. That has been her biggest adjustment at the college level, Shaver said.
"A lot of times at the club and high school levels, teams don't hit at the setters too much," the coach said. "Because of that, almost every college coach will tell you freshman setters don't know how to play defense at this level until they have to do it. (Ohlsen) is getting there.
"Playing better defense has been a point of emphasis. She's putting in the hard work and remembering that defense is part of the game at this level."
McArthur honored by Region IX North
LCCC freshman outside hitter Addyson McArthur was named Region IX North offensive player of the week Tuesday. She posted 73 kills to help the Eagles go 5-0 on the week. She had 19 kills against Garden City, Kansas, and 17 against North Platte, Nebraska. She hit .533 for the week.
Jeremiah Johnke is the WyoSports editor. He can be reached at jjohnke@wyosports.net or 307-633-3137. Follow him on X at @jjohnke.
