HERMOSA BEACH, California — It was early September, and Scott Davenport had a horrible thought. An exquisite thought. A horrible, horrible, no good, positively sensible thought.
He was going to take Terese Cannon, a left aspect blocker, and companion her with Megan Kraft … one other left aspect blocker.
Come once more?
In Davenport’s protection, this was not the initially supposed plan. That had gone to the wayside when Cannon’s companion, Sarah Sponcil, had abruptly determined to take a break from seaside volleyball and, later, announce she’d be transitioning to indoor within the midst of an Olympic run by which they had been ranked No. 7 on the earth. Kraft’s companion, Emily Stockman, had determined, with virtually equal abruptness, to retire amidst that very same Olympic run, although their odds had been considerably decrease than the previous’s.
For six years, Cannon had scripted her seaside volleyball profession round this actual Olympic quad; Kraft had deliberate on skipping her fall semester at USC to proceed taking part in internationally with Stockman, piling up Olympic factors and finishes. Now each had been sudden free brokers, fielding calls and textual content messages from defenders in search of a gifted, left aspect blocker.
Cannon checked out Kraft. Kraft at Cannon.
Shrug.
In the meantime, Davenport labored behind the scenes.
“Me and Sarah had been working with Scott, and Meg and Emily had been working with Scott, and the best way it labored was, Emily retired, Sarah determined to take a break, and Scott additionally took a special job [with USA Volleyball] and each of us had been like ‘Each of us don’t have groups anymore,’ ” Cannon mentioned on SANDCAST: Seaside Volleyball with Tri Bourne and Travis Mewhirter. “The timing of it was form of loopy.”
It was a puzzling transfer on the floor, Cannon and Kraft each eschewing skilled and gifted defenders to companion with somebody who performs the identical aspect and place. However Davenport isn’t one of the vital sought-after coaches within the USA for naught. A mastermind of gameplans and technique, he had greater than an inkling the 2 would work properly collectively.
“I did inform Meg when she first got here to me that you just’re not going to go to the Olympics and medal as a blocker, you’re going to go proper aspect defender with whomever which may be,” Davenport recalled. “We did a bunch of defensive drills. I needed to see what she had skillset smart. She’s simply so good and adaptable, so we did some stuff and I used to be like ‘Rattling. It’ll take you just a little to get used to studying and being snug again there’ however she’s athletic sufficient to get it achieved and good sufficient and Terese is tremendous good and technical.”
This wasn’t the primary time he had drawn up and executed on an attention-grabbing experiment. In 2017, he had been working with Stockman and Kim DiCello and Kolinske and Betsi Flint, in addition to Sarah Pavan and Melissa Humana-Paredes. Whereas each of his American groups had been having fun with success on the AVP, medals internationally had been missing.
Why not put Kolinske with Stockman?
Whereas they might find yourself choosing Evie Matthews as their head coach, the concept proved sound sufficient: In 2021, they practically certified for the Tokyo Olympics and completed top-10 on the earth rankings.
“They’re all in the identical system, similar coaching, similar verbiage. Once they switched it was seamless and didn’t take them lengthy to have success,” Davenport mentioned. “It made sense when Sponcil went to play indoor, and with Emily’s retirement: You guys form of have the identical mind, you communicate the identical language, you keep in mind the knowledge, and it’s the identical system. You’re not having to undergo any rising pains and reinvent the wheel. You’re on the identical web page already.”
They had been greater than even Davenport knew. When Cannon competed at USC, she majored in accounting. Kraft’s main? You guessed it.
“We snort and joke about it that we each studied accounting,” Kraft mentioned. “We predict that approach and we’re very analytical, taking information factors of what we’re seeing and it’s cool that we’re capable of discuss to one another in sport. That’s the one factor that’s been actually completely different in our partnership. She’s actually targeted and an amazing chief.”
Each had been additionally in the same emotional state when it got here to seaside volleyball. Cannon had run the complete gamut, from denial to confusion to a wistful acceptance after Sponcil informed her she wanted a break from the seaside. Whereas her and Sponcil had been streaky, mixing a pair of medals — bronze in Itapema, silver in Ostrava — with a pair of thirteenth place finishes in a span of three tournaments, the potential had been confirmed. They’d crushed practically each high workforce on the earth, twice sweeping Kristen Nuss and Taryn Kloth, twice beating Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson. These they hadn’t crushed, they’d contended with, practically topping world No. 1 Ana Patricia and Duda within the Ostrava finals, going 21-23 within the third set of the Huntington Seaside Professional Sequence semifinals with eventual world champs Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes. With entry deadlines handed, she needed to miss the Manhattan Seaside and Chicago Gold Sequence, her favourite occasions on the schedule.
“It was robust as a result of it’s a two-year plan, and I do know we had been fairly behind, not tremendous behind, however we had virtually a full yr of tournaments left to play,” Cannon mentioned. “In my thoughts, something can occur in sports activities. If we simply play like we did in Ostrava, which is difficult to do, however in idea it may occur, that was the place my thoughts was, after which having to reevaluate, it’s out of your arms, there’s nothing you are able to do. Each choice I’ve made the previous six years has been round this Olympics and to have that taken away was robust. We’d crushed each of the highest two groups. If we iron out a couple of issues, who’s to say we will’t beat them constantly?”
In got here Kraft, who had determined, with the Olympics out of the query, to enroll at USC for her last yr. The mastermind, two-steps-ahead pondering of Davenport got here to fruition each on and off the courtroom. Off the courtroom, Cannon would name her dad and mom and boyfriend after apply, “giddy,” she mentioned, “as a result of apply was so enjoyable. Couldn’t consider it.”
That translated on the courtroom.
Her ardour revived, Cannon and Kraft certified for the Paris Elite16 and performed properly in opposition to three of the highest groups on the earth, shedding narrowly to Nuss and Kloth (18-21, 20-22), Australians and Olympic silver medalists Taliqua Clancy and Mariafe Artacho (21-18, 23-25, 11-15), and Italians Valentina Gottardi and Marta Menegatti (16-21, 21-16, 12-15). One week later, on the World Championships, they grew to become the match’s most pleasant shock, profitable pool with a stunner over China’s Chen Xue and Xinyi Xia (22-20, 21-14) and advancing to the ninth-place rounds with a white-knuckler over Brazil’s Andressa Cavalcanti and Vitoria De Souza (22-24, 24-22, 15-12).
It wasn’t simply the play of Kraft, nevertheless, that revived a bit of Cannon she hadn’t realized she’d misplaced. It was the best way they communicated and competed: Collectively.
“We additionally talked about how we by no means really feel like we’re out of a sport, even when we’re down 5,” Kraft mentioned. “If we will simply play volleyball the best way we all know the way to play we will arrange a chess sport in opposition to our opponents and are available again. She is the chief of that subsequent level mentality.”
They wanted each little bit of that mentality in opposition to Brazil, a match by which they discovered themselves down 13-18 and barely realized it. They knew — or thought they knew — they’d be simply fantastic. Cannon had a very good snort when she rewatched that match on movie. She had no thought that they had been in such a dire scenario.
“Watching it again, I used to be like ‘Oh, my God! What is occurring?’ ” Cannon mentioned, laughing. “I don’t keep in mind it being that large.”
Davenport wasn’t shocked.
“Speaking to Scott, he mentioned you want one thing refreshing and somebody who’s like-minded with you and the way you see the sport,” Cannon mentioned. “That was thrilling to me. We’ll be operating defensive performs and I’ll ask Meg what she’s seeing and since we had been a brand new workforce. I’ve seen her play. She’s athletic and she or he makes it look easy. She simply makes it look a lot simpler than me. Enjoying in opposition to her and seeing her play loads and Scott mentioned you’re going to be glad, I mentioned ‘OK, let’s give it a attempt.’ It was fairly simple. We didn’t suppose we might play these occasions to start with.
“On the finish of this yr I lastly discovered my ardour once more. I prefer to compete and journey internationally as a result of I wish to be among the finest gamers on the earth, so whether or not we’re going to go to the Olympics or not it’s nonetheless actually cool for me to go to these Elite16 and Problem occasions in opposition to the opposite high groups on the earth and see how we stack up. I simply keep in mind why we like doing it and why it’s enjoyable. Olympics or no Olympics, I nonetheless wish to be the very best.”
The Olympics, she is aware of, are now not a risk. It’s why Kraft enrolled at USC. However that’s an occasion that occurs as soon as each 4 years. Why would Cannon let that deter her from her pursuit of being among the finest on the earth? And that pursuit, make no mistake, is on.
Two weeks in the past, Cannon and Kraft gained a qualifier to compete within the NORCECA Continental Championships, an occasion loaded with factors however not essentially stiff competitors. With their thirteenth in Ostrava, ninth at World Championships, and no matter end they earn subsequent week on the Nuvali Problem within the Philippines and the NORCECA within the Dominican Republic — a minimal of a semifinal berth is an affordable expectation — they are going to be in a superb place on the onset of the 2024 season.
“It was a cool scenario and I used to be attempting to determine what I needed to do the remainder of the yr and I simply needed to go compete and have enjoyable doing it,” Cannon mentioned. “At this level, the Olympics had been out of the query and also you would possibly as properly go and play since you like taking part in.”
