GREAT FALLS — Great Falls CMR has plenty it hopes to accomplish as it continues into the volleyball postseason. But for a group featuring 12 seniors, this final run together is about more than bringing home hardware.
CMR has centered its postseason mentality around a simple message: play as one.
“The biggest thing we want them focused on is just playing as one,” Rustlers coach Danielle Woods said. “We’ve done a lot of work with coming together as one. The skills are there, the talent’s there, so just being selfless, playing for each other, playing for the community, their school. Just playing as one.”
That mentality becomes especially important when things aren't going CMR's way.
“We’re here to win, ultimately,” Woods said. “If you’re having an off game, it’s okay. It’s going to happen to everyone. So if I have to change it up, switch it up, then you sit on the bench and cheer for your teammates or find a different role to fill.”
Woods said the Rustlers have also emphasized staying calm when the momentum of a match starts to swing. It's a lesson they've developed throughout a season that hasn't always gone smoothly.
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“We kind of went through some tough points in the season, but we got through them together,” Woods said. “I think it only made them stronger.”
Those challenges also forced CMR to communicate and confront problems rather than allowing them to linger.
“They always found their way back to each other,” Woods said. “We forgave. We came together. That is what I’m most proud of. They put themselves aside and chose the team. And that’s why we’re here.”
Senior outside hitter Tayah Osier believes that trust could be one of CMR's biggest advantages in the postseason.
“We’ve just followed that motto for so long, and I think it’s because we’ve just played with each other for so long,” Osier said. “We know our tendencies, and I think we all love each other so much, and we all know that we’re capable of going on that court and performing our best.”
For Osier, one match in particular demonstrated what the Rustlers can accomplish when everything comes together.
On senior night, CMR knocked off top-seeded Bozeman after overcoming a difficult opening set.
“We really just came out and put our emotions aside,” Osier said. “We knew what we needed to do. I think just having all that support around us and believing in one another, we really switched our mentality.”
Osier said the postseason has already brought a different feeling to practice. With so many seniors preparing for their final matches in a Rustler uniform, the reality that their time together is winding down has begun to set in.
“We realized that it’s going to be our last couple of practices here, and it’s time to lock in,” Osier said. “We push ourselves to be where we want to be.”
That senior experience is difficult to replicate. Woods said having 12 seniors on one Class AA roster is unusual, and their impact has stretched beyond what they've accomplished on the court.
CMR's “Little Rustlers Night,” which the program began last year, has given younger volleyball players an opportunity to interact with athletes they look up to.
“The legacy they’re leaving here is not hardware,” Woods said. “If we bring one home, great. But the legacy they’re leaving is how much these kids look up to them and how much they just bring this community together.”
Osier, who committed to continue her volleyball career at Colorado Mesa, has been an important piece of that senior class.
Woods said Osier has expanded her game beyond being a front-row threat, developing her serving and back-row play while becoming someone the Rustlers trust when they need a point.
“She’s just grown a lot as a player, not just as a hitter,” Woods said. “She is a very selfless player. She just wants to do everything she can to help the team win.”
Osier said her own growth has been as much mental as physical. She struggled at times with confidence when she was younger, but believes her experiences at CMR have helped prepare her for college volleyball.
“I think just my mentality, I’ve learned so much and built so much, and it’s reflected on my skill set and how I’ve even reacted with my teammates on the court,” Osier said.
Before beginning the next chapter of her career, however, Osier still has one final run with teammates she's grown up alongside.
And whether it ends with a state championship or not, she hopes the seniors leave behind something bigger than a result.
“We want people to remember this team for who they are and who we’ve always been,” Osier said. “I think our integrity and how hard we’ve worked these last few years has really reflected on that.”
For Woods, that's ultimately what she hopes this group carries with it when its final match arrives.
“Winning and losing is one thing, you’re going to forget that eventually,” Woods said. “But the connections you make with everyone around you, all the memories, the bus trips, all of that. That is what I hope they remember.”
