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Setter keeps improving: Stephenson quietly becoming a force to be reckoned with
MEDICINE HAT - 
It always seemed the right people would come around at the right time to keep Kayla Stephenson in the sport of volleyball.
The 19-year-old from Brooks has become the starting setter of the Rattlers women's volleyball team thanks to the guidance and encouragement from the many coaches she has had.
"In Grade 7, my coaches thought I was tall, and they really thought I should try out," said Stephenson, whose Rattlers (2-2) travel to Lethbridge today to take on the Lethbridge College Kodiaks (0-4). "I lot of my teachers and gym teachers really got me into it.
"They made it super fun all the time and really worked hard, so you could improve. They thought I had a lot of potential. They gave me a lot of focus."
The lengthy list of influential coaches for the career setter started in Brooks and continued on to playing club volleyball in the Hat in Grades 11 and 12. In Brooks those included Al Bellamy, Cam Brown and ex-University of Alberta Pandas player Dusty Freimark.
In the Hat, club coach Eve Godin helped Stephenson work on serving. Since the Rattlers returned from the Christmas break, Stephenson, who stands 5-foot-10, leads the team in aces with 14.
"Eve (Godin) really worked at the technical part of it hard with us," said Stephenson, whose Rattlers host the Kodiaks Friday at 6 p.m. at the Snake Pit. "We had to make sure we did everything perfect."
The guidance and encouragement helped Stephenson, because even to her own admission, she is pretty shy and quiet away from the court as opposed to being a disciplined and intense competitor on it. She works hard in the classroom, because she has goals of earning her education degree and her masters in speech pathology.
After being introduced to Rattlers head coach Benj Heinrichs by Godin and realizing a number of her club teammates were joining the local college squad, Stephenson's decision to arrive in the Hat was easy.
"I thought it would just be a comfortable first year for me to come here," said Stephenson, who admitted a few schools from the United States were trying to recruit her. "It is only an hour away from home.
"I wasn't really ready to go anywhere super far away. I didn't want to be done volleyball."
As a rookie, Stephenson substituted for starting setter Alex Chesley and earned extra court time as a right side hitter and serving specialist. In her second year, Stephenson has flourished as the starting setter, which didn't come as a surprise to the bench boss.
"If anyone can have the fortune of coaching someone like Kayla, they'd jump at it for sure," said Heinrichs. "She is just a great all-around person.
"She is one of the key example setters. She doesn't say a whole bunch, but she is always in a good mood.
"She does everything well. She can hit, pass, she can play defence. She is our best server. Just to have that kind of balance makes her a great threat. To have someone like that in control of the match is huge."
Stephenson is enjoying her time with the Rattlers so much, she's decided to stay longer than expected. Originally, she was planning to transfer to the University of Alberta after this season.
"My plan was only to stay for two years, when I first came here," said Stephenson. "It changed with the group of girls and how much fun I am having.
"I couldn't imagine if I only had three more weeks of it. I have one more year to make the most of it."
DARREN STEINKE
dsteinke@medicinehatnews.com
