Hatboro-Horsham senior Allison Laucella surpassed the 1,000-dig milestone recently.
By Mary Jane Souder
Things don’t always go exactly as planned. Consider only the volleyball career of Allison Laucella.
“I definitely wanted to be an outside hitter,” the Hatboro-Horsham senior said. “When I was younger, libero is not what I wanted to play.”
But play libero is exactly what Laucella – who measures in at 5-5 - has done, and she’s had herself quite a high school career. Laucella put her name in the Hatboro-Horsham record books when she surpassed the 1,000-dig mark in her team’s win over Quakertown – which also happened to be Senior Night – on Oct. 10.
“I had been talking to my coach the past few games wondering when I would get it,” Laucella said. “I was under the impression that I needed 30 more in that game.”
The senior libero actually needed just three, and the Hatters called a timeout to recognize the accomplishment, which came early in the first set.
“I was so surprised,” Laucella said. “When I was a sophomore, Sam Jones was a senior, and she got a thousand kills.
“I’ve been a libero since my sophomore year, so I was thinking, ‘Wow, I wonder if by my senior year I can get a thousand digs.’ I haven’t really been looking at it closely, but as soon as my senior year hit, I was like ‘I wonder what my digs are at.’”
Laucella has been delivering digs at an impressive clip and has 358 so far this season.
“The main thing that Allison does better than probably almost any libero out there is she reads the game very well,” Hatters coach Jon Young said. “We take a very unique perspective on Allison – our team is very strict about where we play defensively except for Allison.
“We allow her to essentially play wherever she wants, assuming that she can read a ball better, and that usually works out quite well for us. She’s definitely someone that – for lack of a better word – needs less coaching and more opportunity. She plays a lot of outdoor volleyball, which gives her an opportunity to see the game differently than some of the standard indoor volleyball players.
“The thing she probably does better than anybody else as well – her attention to ball control and technique is far better than most players. She is able to do things with the ball and her body in different angles than most players are because of her experience and her focus on high level club volleyball.”
Laucella has been playing volleyball since fifth grade CYO, following in the footsteps of older sister Lauren Laucella, who is now playing at Philadelphia University. She joined the club circuit when she was 12 and plays for East Coast Power.
The senior libero appreciates the freedom Young gives her on the court.
“Being one of the seniors, I feel like it’s better that he just lets us go because we can help the underclassmen a little more,” Laucella said. “I like to read a lot on the court.
“Libero is the only position I’ve ever played since 12U, and I think it’s become second nature to me.”
Laucella, who saw varsity playing time as a freshman, has been the team’s libero since she was a sophomore, and Young knew attaining the 1,000-dig milestone was realistic.
“We looked at it the first league game and thought there was a shot, but if she was going to do it, it was probably in the last match of the year,” the Hatters’ coach said. “She’s probably - if not the most – one of the most competitive players we have in the program. The thing about Allison is she holds her own personal bar to a high level.”
With Laucella all in charge of the defense, Young could focus on the other aspects of the team.
“She’s the type of player you learn to expect excellence every single time,” the Hatters’ coach said. “Allison’s a phenomenal player, and we probably have one of the top two or three liberos and outside hitters in Allison and Holly (Owen). To have both of those in one year, it definitely gives the younger players something to see – I want to be like that someday.”
In terms of her future, Laucella is considering all her options and hopes to play at some level in college, but the Hatters still have some important matches to play with districts on the horizon.
“This year has been a lot of fun,” Laucella said. “The last few years have been a lot of fun for school especially.
“Honestly, volleyball has been such a big part of my life. I couldn’t imagine not doing it. I really do enjoy it.”
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