Cara Park joins an elite crowd when it comes to distributing assists
By Dave Mast
October 13, 2015
660
Not many Ohio high school players can say they lettered in all fours years of a varsity career. Fewer yet can claim to be an All-Ohioan. Even far fewer can claim to be four-time All-Ohioans, and a fraction of elite players can say they are two-time All-Americans.
Now, after cruising past the 3,000 assist mark, West Holmes High School senior setter Cara Park can lay claim to all of the above, plus she now becomes one of only four players to surpass the 3,000-career-assist mark.
Park went crashing through the barrier and into the Ohio High School Athletic Association record books in the Lady Knights game versus Orrville Sept. 23.
And after West Holmes beat up Ashland in three games Tuesday, Oct. 6, Park moved into the number three spot overall in OHSAA assist history.
Park now trails friend and offseason teammate Megan Polak of Gates Mills Gilmour Academy, who holds the state record with 3,556 assists, and Annas Kelsey Zumberger, who amassed 3,496 assists. Park is currently third, having moved past Lehman Catholics Emilee Seger, who had earned 3,013 assists.
Earlier in her career, Park had moved past WHHS record-holder Megan McDowell, who had collected 2,562 career assists from 2001-2004, a spot which puts her in 17th place in the state annals.
For Park, who was honored at the Ashland game between games two and three, it was an honor she knew little about.
I only found out about it a few minutes before they did it, Park said.
Ive been playing this game my whole life, so I have gotten a scholarship for college and made a lot of friends, said Park after being honored with a ball signed by her teammates.
As for what she finds to be the thrilling part of volleyball, she said it was the relationships she has built over the years and the joy of setting up teammates for bone-crushing kills.
The feeling after you get an assist is just amazing, Park said.
While she has made her bread and butter with the set, her coach and father, Jim Park, said his daughter is an anomaly in a sense because she is also a tremendous blocker. The set-block combination is rarity in the high school game.
As far as how you play the game and how you approach practice, you cant ask for a lot more form her, said Jim Park of his daughter. She leads on the court and off the court, and she understands how to play the game. And you dont have that many setters who are that athletic with that kind of size. That is a huge plus for her in her overall game.
She also is able to sense the court and she is very aware of her surroundings, allowing her to dump tip passes into the opponents court for easy points.
She also has gotten to play with her younger sister, Lauren, who she has been able to mentor and push, and at times kid and even chastise a bit when she isnt playing well.
Park said the time and energy she has put into the game has paid off with the full scholarship to The University of Akron, and she hopes that the joy and success she has found will continue on there.
I hope to step in and play right away, said Cara Park on her preparation to play at The University of Akron next year. Right now I am just enjoying my time here playing my senior year with a group I have grown up playing with since we were little.
That camaraderie is something she knows will be at the top of her list once her career at West Holmes is over, and her father also sees how invested in the relationship part of the game the six seniors this year have become.
Weve got six seniors here who are all pretty good friends, so I think that is every bit as important as the accolades, said coach Park. They are so close, and they are all like my kids. I know that is important to Cara. Its been fun, and Cara has worked incredibly hard to become the player she is, so this honor is one that she definitely deserves.
