Fenwick senior in Top 5 in three GCL volleyball categories

Parker Povse didn’t like the way his senior season on the Bishop Fenwick High School volleyball team started.

The Falcons began 5-5.

“Not what we wanted as a team,” the 6-foot-1 senior said.

Then the Falcons caught fire, winning 10 straight matches, then splitting matches against St. Charles and St. Vincent-St. Mary.

As the postseason begins, the Falcons are 16-6 overall, 10-0 in the Greater Catholic League, and seeded No. 2 in the Division II regional tournament.

The Falcons are blessed with senior leadership and depth through the grades, said coach Tina Gustely. The team has six seniors, six juniors, one sophomore and two freshmen.

One of the team leaders is Povse, who ranks in the top 5 in three GCL categories. His 47 aces are tops in the league, his 419 assists are No. 4 and his 34 blocks rank him 5th.

Gustely said Povse has improved tremendously since his freshman season. He has worked hard in the off-season developing his skills and improving his strength in the weight room, his coach said.

“He’s driven for sure,” she said.

Povse played setter as a freshman, then, after a growth spurt and weight gain, moved to setter and hitter as a junior and also this season.

He described the setter position as the “quarterback of the team,” while the hitter “gets all the glory.”

For him, he gets both.

Povse said since most Fenwick students are active in extra-curricular activities, including varsity sports, it creates “a competitive mindset” throughout the school.

That means most students “are there to support you,” he said. “They all know what you’re going through.”

Playing volleyball requires quickly getting over mistakes, then concentrating on the next point, he said.

He started playing volleyball with friends at Mother Teresa Catholic Elementary School, then “fell in love with the sport.”

He plans to study civil engineering at Ohio University and possibly play club volleyball.

Until then, Povse will concentrate on the postseason.

The Falcons open the tournament at home Tuesday, May 12 against the winner of the Roger Bacon-Madeira match.

Gustely, in her 14th season coaching volleyball at different levels, said she has talked to her players about not looking beyond the next opponent.

“We have to keep focusing on playing together,” she said. “Just communicating, earning one point at a time and not getting ahead of ourselves.”