One of the new faces on the court for Polk County volleyball isn’t new at all.
Beija Olivari has returned from an injury that sidelined her for most of her junior season, and she’s ready to lead as a senior.
What’s the impact been like? Huge. Just ask Polk County coach Molly Hill.
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“She’s one of our go-to people,” Hill said. “Everybody knows to look to her. Everybody knows to see her as a leader, and she’s filling those shoes very well.”
Olivari said she’s thrilled to be back on the court.
“It was really hard for me to be out for that long, watching what I love the most,” she said. “So being able to be in action again, it’s just an incredible feeling.”
Dealing with last year’s injury came down to a change in mindset, she said.
“It was frustrating at the beginning for me, but then I realized that it was a lesson,” she said. “It taught me to be resilient and just come back and grow and better than I was before.”
It also required a different kind of leadership, a change that taught her to see the court in a whole new way.
“I think I was pretty loud on the bench,” she said with a laugh. “I tried to help them and tell them where to go with the ball. Because when you’re sitting on the bench, you see it from a whole different perspective.
“When you’re in the moment, you have two seconds. But when you’re on the bench, you can see. So I tried to help them with placing the ball. It’s a little bit different.”
It’s a little bit different for the Wolverines, in the best possible way, now that Olivari has taken her place on the floor.
“It’s really special,” Hill said. “I love Beija and I’ve coached her for so long and known her for so long. She played club for my mom, and she’s just been in my life for a long time. So I’m glad to have her finally healthy, and she’s in a huge leadership position for me this year. She’s just taking it and striving with it and doing great.”
Olivari is taking that leadership role very seriously, but she said even the newcomers to the Wolverines are already embracing the culture around the program. Familiarity with each other through club volleyball certainly helps.
“They play club together, and I feel like that’s so helpful, because they know how to work together,” she said. “And I think all of us have a lot of chemistry.”
That chemistry is something that’s already showing, and Olivari said it’s been a positive.
“They’re very uplifting for me, and I try to be uplifting for them,” she said. “But I just kind of tell them to keep doing their thing and they’re going to shine.”
Olivari isn’t taking anything in her senior year for granted.
“I’m going to try to do my best to represent Polk County the way we should be represented, and try my hardest,” she said. “I think we’re all ready for those difficult games where it’s exciting and … I can just imagine it. I’m so excited.”
