Coupeville Sports

Camilla Rische

As spring volleyball practice kicks into high gear, we’ll be taking a look at a variety of players from Coupeville High School, with an emphasis on younger players and rising stars.

There are three things Camilla Rische absolutely, positively loves.

The music of Justin Bieber, the Ryan Gosling film “The Notebook” (“I could watch it a hundred times and still cry during the sad parts. It is such a good movie”) and having the ball in her hands while on the volleyball court.

“I enjoy a lot of things about volleyball, the one thing I enjoy the most is serving. I love serving!,” Rische said. “I had a pretty good serve since I’ve started playing and each year it gets better and better with practice.”

Rische, who will be a junior in the fall, will be a two-sport athlete for Coupeville High School, juggling volleyball with a return to the cheer squad. After cheering throughout her time in elementary school, she took a few seasons off, but is now thrilled to return.

“I enjoy doing cheer because everyone is treated equally and it’s exactly like a family,” Rische said. “Nobody gets left behind.”

When she’s on the court, she hopes to fine-tune her hitting (“I don’t really enjoy hitting and I would like to work on having some power when I spike the ball”), while continuing to provide strong serving and setting skills to the Wolves.

This will be her fourth year in the Coupeville program, during which time she has bounced from middle back to setter, where she blossomed in the role.

“Sophomore season came and the coach put me as the setter,” Rische said. “I had never really set before. I thought I wouldn’t like it and now I love setting!

“My goals for this next season are definitely I want to have better passes,” she added. “And spike with power and most of all play with confidence.”

Away from the court, Rische enjoys Spanish class (“It was the class I was most excited to go to. Senor Mendes made it a lot of fun for everyone”) and has a large, close support group of family and friends.

“I love hanging out with my friends,” Rische said. “Whether it’s having a sleepover or just hanging out in our neighborhood.

“My parents are a really big impact on my life,” she added. “They motivate me when I’m done and are always there for me. My family is always at my sports events cheering me on!”