All-American quartet makes big-time noise

When you're driving toward a national championship, it's nice to know that you've got four on the floor.

Washington volleyball coach Jim McLaughlin will tell you that all 17 players on his roster have played important roles in this year's 30-1 season, which has now entered its mission-critical phase. But McLaughlin knows he has something special in the four players who on Wednesday were each named All-Americans.

They are a big reason the Huskies are two wins away from a national title — and at 4 p.m. today in San Antonio's Alamodome, third-seeded Washington faces 15th-seeded Tennessee (25-8) in a Final Four semifinal.

"They're all unbelievable players," McLaughlin said of the four All-Armericans, "and they all just keep getting better."

Washington's fantastic four are as follows:

• Sanja Tomasevic, 6-foot-1 senior outside hitter, the 2005 Pac-10 Player of the Year, and now a first-team All-American. She was a second-team All-American in 2003, and only a seven-week layoff due to injury in 2004 kept her off last year's All-American roster. She is UW's career leader in kills (1,771) and aces (155), a dominant offensive presence and a steadying influence on her teammates.

• Courtney Thompson, a 5-8 junior setter from Kentlake High School, the nation's leader in assists per game (14.83) and the indispensable hub of the Washington offense. Her pinpoint sets have helped give UW the nation's top team hitting percentage (.341), and several coaches cite her as the country's best setter. She was named a first-team All-American for the second straight year.

• Candace Lee, a 5-7 libero (defensive specialist), is Washington's all-time digs leader (2,012) and ranks second on the Pac-10 all-time chart. She was McLaughlin's first recruit at UW, the result of a cold-call tip by a fellow coach who thought Lee was a good fit for McLaughlin's coaching style. An All-American honorable mention in 2004, she was named a second-teamer in 2005.

• Christal Morrison, a 6-2 sophomore outside hitter from Puyallup High School. A second-team All-American in 2004, she was named to this year's third-team — which most UW observers (including McLaughlin) will view as a little odd, since Morrison elevated her game in 2005. The most valuable player of the College Station regional, Morrison's powerful swings gave her double-digit kills in 24 matches this season.

Washington and top-ranked Nebraska are the only schools with four All-Americans. UW's All-Americans clearly make the top of McLaughlin's personal "big-time" list.

"They have so much talent, but they're such good people, too," McLaughlin said. "They've grown together, improved together, supported each other. I love them. I wouldn't trade any of them for anyone else in the country."

It's easy to understand why. Combined with other players in UW's regular rotation — middle blockers Darla Myhre, a senior, and sophomore Alesha Deesing, senior outside hitter Brie Hagerty and senior defensive/serving specialist Danka Danicic — Washington has produced its most successful season ever and seems destined to find itself in Saturday night's title match, most likely against No. 1 Nebraska.

McLaughlin says his team's imposing numbers are directly proportionate to the level of commitment and heart his players have brought to his system.

"If they're training appropriately, they just keep getting better," he said. "That's the key to this thing, the improvement issue. When you know you're getting better, when you don't look sideways and stay focused on your objectives, you can handle whatever adversity is in front of you. That's when you get all-Americans."