The Pilots went 1-2 at the Nike Portland Invitational on Sept. 3-5, 2009 at Chiles Center
College notebook: Former Redwood High teammates going head-to-head during volleyball tourney
Less than three years ago, Taylor Hadfield and Danielle Dupar were teaming up to help guide the Redwood High girls volleyball team to a North Coast Section Division II title.
Saturday, the two will be on the same court once more, this time under much different circumstances.
Hadfield and her University of New Mexico team travel to Oregon for the Nike Portland Invitational, where the Lobos will face Dupar's University of Portland team Saturday at 7 p.m. The match will mark the first time the former teammates will be on the same court in a competitive setting since 2006.
The two were constant competitors throughout middle school and high school, but always for the same cause. In eighth grade they both joined Empire Volleyball Club, and when Redwood High coach Katie Pease formed her Absolute Volleyball Club in San Rafael, Hadfield and Dupar were the only two Giants players to stay on at Empire, continuing to make the drive up from Corte Madera to Sonoma State in Rohnert Park.
That gave them a special connection on the court when it came to high school games, the two said.
"We were able to get to know each other as players," Dupar said. "It helped to be able to know what balls she hit best so I could help her out, and she could help me out. It made us stronger teammates on the court."
That relationship showed, as the two teamed up with Meagan Schmitt (now playing at Cal), Emily Botts (Boise State) and the rest of their Giants teammates to compose perhaps the best high school girls volleyball team to come out of Marin. They went 33-5 their senior year en route to the section title.
"Everybody respected each other. Everybody was close on that team," Pease said. "There were no issues. Danielle and Taylor played off each other really well."
Dupar and Hadfield's vast experience alongside one another may pay dividends even now. The two will literally go head-to-head, with Hadfield, a right side hitter, rising up for kills and Dupar, a defensive specialist, responsible for keeping the ball off the ground.
"I'm looking forward to playing defense against her and being on the other side of the net this time," Dupar said.
The two enter the tournament with their two teams in completely different situations. Hadfield's New Mexico team went 22-7 last year to finish third in the Mountain West Conference and has started the 2009 season 3-0. Dupar's Portland squad is just 1-4 after an 8-24 campaign in '08.
Even though her Lobos appear to be in better shape heading into the matchup, Hadfield has no plans of letting up. If anything, going up against her old friend is only an added incentive.
"We've always been on the same team for such a long time, so I know how much of a competitor she is," Hadfield said. "We're just excited to see each other out there. We've been having a countdown, pretty much."
Both Dupar and Hadfield's parents are making the trip up to Portland to watch the two compete against one another for the first time. Both were excited for the reunion, and Dupar planned to show Hadfield and her parents around town, time willing.
But when it comes time to get on the court, any friendship will be put aside. After all, the two are cross-court enemies now.
"It's definitely always fun to play against old teammates," Hadfield said. "But we're just going to go through it like it's any other match we have to win. It will definitely be a lot of fun."
Vincent Tannura
Marin Independent Journal
09/03/2009
