This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
11/14/2017 11:00 PMMackenzie Anderson was ready to improve her game heading into the latter half of her tenure with the Morgan volleyball team. Mackenzie dug deep, put in extra work during the offseason, and became a stronger defensive force who also provided quality service for the Huskies.
Mackenzie, an outside hitter, recently completed her junior season as one of Morgan’s captains. Mackenzie gravitated toward volleyball after taking part in a clinic held by former Morgan Head Coach Joe Grippo and then joined the Huskies upon arriving at the high school.
Prior to the 2017 campaign, Mackenzie was ready to take the necessary measures to reach the next level, and so she got involved with club volleyball and also took lessons on the side. That extra practice led to plenty of production for Mackenzie, who finished the season with nice totals of 137 digs and 55 aces, while helping the Huskies make the Shoreline Conference Tournament.
“I worked with a lot of really great coaches, and I also did the private lessons, as well,” says Mackenzie. “Mentally, I stepped up my game. I didn’t get down on myself after mistakes. I also worked on my position defensively. I worked on getting my serve better. I didn’t serve much until the end of last year, and my serve got more consistent this season.”
The mental aspect is often just as important as the physical aspect in sports, and volleyball is certainly no exception. Mackenzie always stays sharp on the court by never getting too down if something goes wrong. She also has an ability to pick her spots as a server with pinpoint precision.
“Defensively, you are never going to be perfect, so I always move onto the next point after a mistake. Volleyball is a mental game, so if you let it get to your head, it could screw you up and the rest of the team,” Mackenzie says. “I also got better at reading the court and am able to predict where the ball will generally be and can call things for my teammates. With serving, I like to pick a spot on the court and serve there. I try to target certain people on the other team, so it throws them off.”
As one who’s grown up in the Morgan volleyball family, Mackenzie knows how important an influential captain can be. That’s why Mackenzie isn’t shy about speaking her mind when she knows it can help the people around her.
“It means a lot to be a captain, and I want nothing more than for the team to be successful,” she says. “I am vocal and am constantly yelling and getting people going. I also like helping the girls with fundamentals.”
Huskies’ Head Coach Paige Trusty says that Mackenzie not only brings a ton of intensity to the floor, she also puts her heart and soul into organizing important team events.
“Mackenzie is very dedicated to the game of volleyball. She is a strong leader off the court, putting a lot of time and effort into organizing Senior Night and our first annual Dig Pink Game,” says Trusty. “Without Mackenzie’s hard work behind the scenes, we would not have had the success we did on either night. Mackenzie is also very competitive on the court and aggressively goes after each and every point.”
After Morgan finished just one win shy of a State Tournament berth this year, Mackenzie is ready for her senior season and hopes it will be one of more progress and many victories, including one on a night that’s always has circled on their calendar.
“I would really like for senior year to be successful. We have so much talent and potential and, if we can bring it together, we can be unstoppable,” says Mackenzie, who thanks Grippo, Trusty, and personal coach Dave Sprowson. “Since I’ve been here, we’ve never won on our Senior Night, so I would like to win that one next year.”