SPRINGFIELD — Kacey Schmitt didn’t expect a lot of fanfare. Even though she had 299 career volleyball coaching victories entering Amherst Regional’s Sept. 22 match at Sci-Tech, the Hurricanes were on the road for a late afternoon first serve. Spectators were barred and turned away.
Amherst won the first set 25-9, rallied to take the second one 25-22 and closed the match 25-19. The Hurricanes fired 32 aces, led by 10 from Annabel Ogden, who also distributed 29 assists. Sky Yamagiwa put down eight kills. Liza Beigel pulled up seven digs with five aces. Molly Wysocki added five aces and four kills.
It shocked the longtime coach when her team unveiled a poster and flowers following the Hurricanes’ 3-0 victory. They also changed into new face masks with “300” written on them.
“While it was wonderful for them to honor me in that way, the kids are why I was able to get to 300,” Schmitt said.
“It really hasn’t been foremost in my mind, but it really means a lot to me that the kids wanted to do something. I do this because I like the kids and I enjoy seeing young women have such a healthy attitude toward each other as teammates and friends.”
It’s a culture Schmitt helped craft. She encourages her players to eat lunch together before matches and spend time together off the court. They communicate and lean on each other, like in the second set when it was tied 22-all. The Hurricanes ripped off the last three points to close it out.
“It’s really important that other people pick each other up,” Amherst senior Claire Michaels said. “Even though it sounds kind of cliche, we do a good job of being a team and getting one good pass and using that.”
Schmitt tells her team “get low” all the time. Of course it’s practical, sporting advice for how to properly receive and pass a volleyball. But “get low” means more than that to the Hurricanes. It’s an inside joke. It’s life philosophy.
“She shows us that even if we screw up, we’re still part of the team,” Michaels said. “We don’t have to worry or anything.”
That philosophy of staying low and staying together has been with Schmitt for the 23 years she’s coached volleyball at Amherst. Her teams have qualified for the postseason 19 of those years. The Hurricanes won three Western Massachusetts titles under Schmitt: 1999, 2006 and 2016.
Teya Nolan played on the 2016 team and later coached under Schmitt. Outside of raising the title trophy, her favorite memory that season revolved around Schmitt and a late home match. Their opponent fired a ball out of bounds near the Hurricanes fan section. Schmitt was closest to the bleachers and walked over to retrieve it. The fan section chanted, “Kacey! Kacey! Kacey!” Nolan and the players quickly joined the chorus. Schmitt sat down back at the bench and chuckled to herself.
“Kacey is loved by so many people, which is why she’s an amazing coach,” Nolan said. “She is extremely personable, determined and knows how to crack a joke.”
When she coaches, Schmitt doesn’t move much. She either sits in her chair closest to the scorer’s table or stands slightly in front of it. Yelling and hysterics aren’t part of her repertoire.
“You can watch her, she just sits back. She created a system that she made that happen,” said Amherst athletic director Victoria Stewart, who didn’t play for Schmitt but has been her neighbor for years in town.
“The girls and the players on the team, they know what their expectations are because she built that kind of culture within her program.”
For much of her career, Schmitt also coached softball. She accumulated 204 wins in 17 years on the diamond and three sectional titles. But Schmitt retired in 2016 and stuck with volleyball. She appreciated how volleyball drills keep the whole team involved rather than separating by positions. There are also no rainouts. Gyms stay pretty much the same temperature once the season gets going.
“I’ll say ‘one more good one’ and the kids will say ‘that wasn’t good enough, let’s do some more.’ They don’t always want to leave because practice is fun,” Schmitt said. “I just love the sport and the kids come to it with a fresh perspective. I love to see that kind of excitement about a new sport.”
As much as 300 wins volleyball sticks out, Schmitt pointed to her career averaging 14 wins a year as a more noteworthy accomplishment, especially because the Hurricanes play in a league with Longmeadow, Minnechaug, Frontier Regional and other western Mass. powers.
“Kacey has done a great job at Amherst. She’s consistently put high -level teams on the court year after year,” Frontier coach Sean MacDonald said. “She forces us to be on top of our game every time we play.”
That takes developing players and a program, not just leaning on a few talented classes.
“I’ve been able to develop players every year that can at least be competitive,” Schmitt said. “That’s where champions usually come from in that league.”
There were no trophies awarded in 2020. Programs had to fight for the ability to even play in some cases. Amherst conducted their practice and home matches outside. That season, and what Schmitt did to help the Hurricanes get through it, will stick with senior Delaney MacPhetres.
“There would be days where obviously we’d be having a tough day or it would be raining or freezing cold,” MacPhetres said. “I just feel like she pushed us through it, like she wanted to keep us going.”
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com. Follow him on Twitter @kylegrbwsk.