the sisterhood

Their origins span the globe. Two are from Serbia-Montenegro, two called the Midwest home, one came from California and two are natives of the Pacific Northwest. But it was in Seattle -- more specifically the Hec Edmundson Pavilion -- that this year's seniors came together to make Washington history.

At the end of 2001, Washington volleyball finished in 8th place in the Pac-10 conference. Jim McLaughlin was in his first year after Bill Neville was fired as coach. Change was imminent for Washington, for McLaughlin has an uncanny ability to recruit.

"Jim recruits a certain type of person, and we all have the same sort of goals, feelings and drive," said Darla Myhre.

As the 2005 season comes to a close, those five recruits have made Washington one of the top volleyball programs in the nation. Husky and Pac-10 records have fallen at their feet. Their diligent commitment to the sport has put them on the NCAA map.

Day by day, they have improved together. Day by day, they have become teammates and sisters. Now, they one goal left to achieve. If they win the national championship on Dec. 17, one of the greatest stories in Husky history will be completed.

Darla Myhre

Darla Myhre has a simple yet ambitious goal: She wants to win the volleyball national title and knows the Huskies can do it.

"The best moment is yet to come," proclaimed Myhre. "The best moment will come on the 17th [of December]."

If everything goes to plan for the Huskies, on Dec. 17 they will play for the NCAA national championship. For Myhre and the six other seniors, it will be a culmination of years of work. This year's departing seniors have been the fundamental component of the Huskies' rise to volleyball prominence.

In her time here, Myhre has seen her Huskies go from bottom of the Pac-10 to a No. 3 ranking in the nation and a national championship within their sights.

"I want our team to be remembered as the first national champions and the start of a volleyball dynasty," said Myhre.

A native of Duncan, British Columbia, Myhre went to Belmont Secondary High School in Victoria. In the 10th grade, Myhre's love affair with volleyball began when she began playing club ball.

"I started playing pretty late," said Myhre. "My mom played volleyball for the University of Victoria. She got me involved and as soon as I touched a volleyball I fell in love with the sport."

After high school, Myhre had the choice of going to any Canadian university on full scholarship due to her volleyball skills. But the Emerald City had won Myhre some years earlier.

Myhre came to Seattle in the 10th grade for the Emerald City Classic and loved the city. In 2001, a fellow teammate of Myhre had asked brand-new Husky coach Jim McLaughlin to travel to Canada to watch her play in practice. McLaughlin watched Myhre's teammate, but it was Myhre he was interested in bringing back to the United States.

"I was going to stay in Canada," said Myhre. "I didn't really want to come down to the states unless it was the UW."

In Washington, Myhre found a group of women with a team-first mentality. Together, with the help of McLaughlin, they improved.

"In order for the team to get better, you have to improve," said Myhre. "You improve and the team will improve. It's taken four years and I think we have prepared well."

Brie Hagerty

Brie Hagerty's father loved playing beach volleyball. By a lake's beach, Hagerty was first exposed to the sport that would dominate her college career and give the UW an integral player in a team the took the UW to heights never reached before.

Volleyball and athletics run strong in her family. Her mother coaches volleyball at her former high school and first coached her in her first club team, her brother plays baseball and was drafted by the Chicago Cubs. Since childhood, the competitive nature of her family pushed Hagerty to do her best.

"If I wanted to win she had to try hard since everyone was good," remembered Hagerty.

The intensity of family competition left its mark on Hagerty's character. She describes herself as an passionate player with the drive to win. Such ambition to succeed was one of the elements that brought the 6-foot-1-inch player to the UW.

"[My teammates] call me crazy because I'm the intense one," joked Hagerty.

A native of Defiance, Ohio, Hagerty always wanted to attend Ohio State University. So, after high school, Hagerty enrolled in her dream school. But she lasted only one year.

"There are no regrets," said Hagerty "It just didn't really work out."

And the UW lucked out. Before coming the UW, Hagerty was considering going to small schools. She just wanted to play volleyball and not stress. But Hagerty had heard that the Huskies needed an outside hitter and she realized her feelings for competitive volleyball were not disappearing. Hagerty had saved one of the five visits the NCAA allows to prospecting athletes and decided to visit Seattle. Immediately, Hagerty knew that the UW was the place to play.

"Praise the Lord that I saved that one visit," said Hagerty. "When I came here I realized this program was on the upswing. Everyone was unbelievable. I committed on the spot."

As a sophomore in 2003, Hagerty joined her new counterparts in Seattle. After three years of playing with her teammates, friendships have blossomed and Hagerty has had the time of her life.

"I've never been so happy all my life," said Hagerty. "All of us seniors are not ready for the fact that we're seniors. Every single game could be our last. [I want to] play the best I can day in and day out. Take it one game at a time with our goal of the national title."

Candace Lee

When she decided to move up north and play volleyball at Washington four years ago, Candace Lee was committing what amounts to sports treason.

Growing up in Eugene, Ore., the UW senior used to watch the Oregon volleyball team in action. And while she cheered them on back then, that's certainly not the case anymore.

"I always want to beat Oregon," she said. "I want to beat other teams, but I always really want to beat them because they are my hometown team."

While she grew up a Duck fan, since her arrival in Seattle she has become the defensive anchor on the powerful Husky volleyball machine on a quest for the program's national title.

However, when she first started playing volleyball, she was making kills as an outside hitter rather than digging them. It was during her senior season at Churchill High School that she made the transition to libero, the position she has played during her time at the UW.

Four years later, she just might be the best in her position in the nation, and her 1,985 career digs ranks first on the Washington all-time list and second in Pac-10 history.

She said that part of what had made her so successful and allowed her to get better is her ability to take on each play as they come.

"I am really good at staying in the present tense," she said. "You can't dwell on your mistakes, so I think I am able to improve a lot quicker than others."

And as much as she is a standout on the court, her star shines just as bright in the classroom as the English major has been named an Academic All-American the last two seasons.

"It makes me happy because I do put a lot of work into school," she said.

Sanja Tomasevic

Sanja Tomasevic knew by the spring of freshman year that she had joined a team with potential. The team had finished the season at 20-11 after an 11-16 the season before.

"I could tell improvement," said Tomasevic, a native of Serbia-Montenegro. "That's when I felt that we were getting so much better. That's when I learned that this team can do something amazing."

Tomasevic has been rewriting the Washington volleyball record books all season long, and she may just be the best outside hitter to ever put on a Husky uniform.

She has done her fair share in improving the Huskies.

But for Tomasevic, none of that matters. All that she cares about is helping her team to a national championship.

She believes that there will be more UW teams to win championships, but she knows this team will be remembered as the one who built the UW volleyball program.

"We are the first ones," said Tomasevic. "No one can't take that away from us."

Danka Danicic

As a defensive specialist, Danka Danicic doesn't generally make a lot of noise during matches like the rest of the Husky starters. Sometimes she gets lost in the shuffle.

But when she goes back to serve, everyone in the arena holds their breath.

"She is the best server on the team," Sanja Tomasevic said. "She makes it look so easy; she has great vision of the court."

While she may not lead the team in aces, her 23 on the season is nothing to laugh at, and even when she doesn't put one down off of her serve, she makes a difference by forcing the opponents into tough situations.

In her career she has 67 aces and 613 digs, seeing a significant increase in time over the last two seasons.

She came with Tomasevic from Serbia-Montenegro and the two helped each other adjust to the new country and culture with the help of volleyball.

"She was always my close friend, but now I look at her as my sister," Tomasevic said. "Having her next to me was so much easier."