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Morrison wants to take all

Ridgewood's go-to gal is fed up with coming in second.

By FRANK PASTOR
Published September 22, 2005

NEW PORT RICHEY - Caitlin Morrison has had her fill of moral victories. Her shelves are stocked with consolation prizes. She can't bear another close call.

In her final high school season, the Ridgewood middle hitter wants more for herself and her teammates.

"I just want to beat everyone," Morrison said. "Our goal is to win districts, and to do that we have to start picking up our game and playing better, start beating these other teams like Hudson, River Ridge and Mitchell."

Ridgewood was the first team to take a game from Hudson the past two seasons before losing both matches. The Rams defeated Mitchell, which beat River Ridge, earlier this year, but dropped their own match against the Royal Knights.

At times, Ridgewood (9-5 entering Wednesday's match at River Ridge) has played as well as any team in the county. With a lineup filled with returning varsity players, Morrison wants to see the Rams do it more consistently.

"I think we're up at the top," Morrison said. "I think we should be No. 1 if we played well."

If it happens, it will start with Morrison. The 5-foot-10 senior is Ridgewood's primary playmaker and most vocal leader.

"She's our go-to girl," said setter Jessica Birchmeier, who has played alongside Morrison for eight years. "Whenever we're struggling out there, I can always count on her. She's the person I trust the most on the team, I guess because I've played with her that long."

After deferring to upperclassmen her first two seasons, Morrison became the focal point of Ridgewood's offense at the beginning of her junior year. After registering 238 kills and 107 blocks as a junior, she leads the Rams in aces (22), kills (178), blocks (67) and hitting percentage (87 percent) - numbers that rank at or near the top in the county - this year.

She was the driving force behind victories over Mitchell on Aug. 23 and Central on Sept. 7, and kept her teammates' spirits high in the loss to Hudson on Sept. 12.

"Even when we were trailing, she never got down, and she stayed up and kept the team fired up," said Ridgewood coach Amber Starkey. "It could have been very easy for her or the team to give up, but they never did."

Morrison was all business against Hudson, but she isn't always serious.

"We joke around all the time," Morrison said. "It's really hard trying to get serious during practice, because all the time we just joke and laugh and talk about what's going on in school."

Morrison's confidence comes from eight seasons of club volleyball. She started with North Bay, which became Pinellas Heat, and usually plays up in age.

"Last year, I played on the 18s team and I was 16, so it really helped playing older girls," Morrison said."They hit harder, they block more, and it's just really good experience. It makes me play harder."

Morrison hopes her club experience will lead to an opportunity in college. She likes South Florida because it is Division I and close to home but also is considering Florida Gulf Coast, North Florida and Florida International, among others.

"Some girls play volleyball just to play," Starkey said. "Caitlin loves the game of volleyball, and it shows."

[Last modified September 22, 2005, 01:04:14]