The state volleyball playoffs are quickly approaching quickly and in the 3A ranks, the Capital Cougars are once again one of the teams to beat. Capital punched their ticket to state with a win over Lakes at the district tournament and now set their sights to win a 2nd straight state title.
The Capital volleyball team finished the regular season with a perfect 14-0 league record.
Coach Katie Turcotte's Cougars won 13 straight games in 2017 to bring the school its first-ever volleyball state championship.
"Once I saw everybody else's reaction, then it hit me that we were the state champs and it was just unbelievable," said Capital sophomore Devyn Oestreich.
Capital sophomore Madison Nichols said, "It was really shocking because at first I didn't even think I was going to make the team, so let's take it step-by-step and then when we actually won state, I was like oh my gosh, we just won, and I just started crying because I was with my sister and all my best friends."
Her sister Maia Nichols was the MVP of the tournament. Maia and Madison's mom played for San Jose State, so the two sisters had an early edge. Their parents encouraged them to play other sports, but it was volleyball they fell in love with. "I like how intense it is. I'm a perfectionist, so whoever has the most errors is going to lose, so I don't want to lose because I'm a perfectionist and I want it to be perfect," says Maia Nichols.
Away from Capital and indoor volleyball, the Nichols are a dangerous duo on the sand. Maia and Madison are considered to be two of the top beach volleyball players in the Northwest.
Maia has already committed to play for Arizona State and together the sister act won several titles but the focus now is on their indoor game. The Cougars have a half-dozen players that will play in college and they don't want to miss the chance to win another crown.
"They make each other better, they kind of elevate the level of play for each other, every day in practice and definitely when it's game time," said Coach Turcotte.
The Cougars have won 11 of their last 12 matches and now get set to defend their title.
