Baptista looking to finish career strong for Bellevue

Bellevue senior libero Kate Baptista stands out in more than one way. With being a libero, Baptista always wears an opposite colored jersey as the rest of her team. When the opposition gets a big hit or clubs a ball that most can't get, Baptista is there to clean it up, keeping the point alive and more times than not, helping her team win points, sets and matches. Baptista's storied career at Bellevue is winding down. Just over a week remains in the regular season before the postseason begins. "I feel like our team has been good," Baptista said. "We've been focused on keeping a positive and focused mindset. Even when we get in ruts, we have to stay positive and push back out of it. I think that's been really helpful. I also think everybody is giving really good effort. "We're all putting 110 percent out there at practice and on the court." The Lady Red are 15-4 overall this season and sit at 5-1 in the Northern Ohio Conference Bay Division. "Kate is our team's main communicator on the court," Lady Red coach Liana Petitti said. "She is consistently identifying the setter on the other side as well as providing reminders of what we can anticipate the other team to do. Kate communicates effectively to our front row when they are attacking the ball, which helps them to place the ball better and for our team to score points. "Kate also is a great hustler. She has relentless pursuit, which helps to keep many plays alive on our side of the court." The stats speak for themselves. Baptista has a team-high 259 digs this season and 1,349 digs for her career. "I look at it as I need to be vocally present and intensely and passionately present, as well," said Baptista of being the team's libero. "Being a leader and a libero, your voice is always going. You have to be saying something to help the team at all times. "Intense and passionate-wise, it's important to keep the team grounded. There's times where it's easy to go through the motions." Baptista burst on the scene as a freshman, tallying 308 digs for a Bellevue team that finished 10-14 in its first season under Petitti. Baptista increased her dig total to 409 as a sophomore while the Lady Red improved to 12-11. "Kate has been a great senior captain," Petitti said. "She is a phenomenal vocal leader, helping to identify important aspects of the game, but also by providing motivation and focus to her teammates. Kate also does a great job leading by example. She is consistently one of the hardest workers in our gym and is always doing the right thing. "She helps to set the tone and standard of our practices and then holds teammates accountable." Baptista finished last season with 363 digs as Bellevue went 19-5, capturing a share of the Sandusky Bay Conference Lake Division title. "Kate has grown in many ways over the past four years," Petitti said. "One of the most obvious is her overall confidence and leadership. Kate demands the court and is able to take charge leading her team within matches. Kate's volleyball IQ and ability to read and play the ball has also improved each year." Baptista said the position of libero was birthed out of lack of size growing up. She was on the shorter size, but now stands 5-foot-6, commanding the back row of the Lady Red defense. "I was always put in a defensive category," Baptista said. "Then I randomly sprouted up a little bit, of course. I've always played defense. I didn't even know that was possible, but I guess so." Baptista is one of seven seniors for Bellevue this season. She said they all know each other well, having played together since they were fifth-graders. "I think Kate is a great example to younger players how you can always strive to improve," Petitti said. "Even though Kate has worn the libero jersey for the majority of her four years as a Bellevue volleyball player, she has never gotten complacent." Bellevue's next challenge comes Tuesday when it hosts Division V No. 6 Huron (14-3, 6-0) in a key NOC Bay battle. The Tigers swept Bellevue in the first meeting, but Baptista wants to reverse that in one of her final matches on her home court. "That match is really exciting because last year we played Norwalk late to split the league title at home," Baptista said. "That was really fun. I'm excited. I think we did good last time, but I think we can push even harder." Baptista is one of a handful of tremendous liberos in the area. She said she knows Monroeville's Addison Homan and Norwalk's Sawyer Wineman well. "I play with Addi during club season and she's the libero for my club team," Baptista said. "She's so fun to play next to. I turn around and she's there. Sometimes I think I'm going to miss a ball and she's there. I've watched Sawyer over the years with (Bellevue senior) Finley (LaPata) playing with her. She's also amazing to watch." Baptista gelled quickly with Petitti when the two first met when Baptista was a freshman. They communicate, but have the ability to keep things funny and serious at the same time. "Coach Petitti came in before our freshman year, but then I played club for her my freshman year," Baptista said. "I don't know if this is a real fact, but I'd like to think that I've been one of her longest coached players. I've had her for five seasons total and she's really passionate. "She really cares about what she does. She cares about the girls. You can tell she puts her heart and soul into everything." Baptista said it just hit her earlier this week that the regular season wraps up next week. After hosting Huron, Bellevue travels to Port Clinton on Thursday before welcoming in Willard for Senior Day on Oct. 17. "It's really crazy because I can't even think of a life where volleyball wasn't a big part of my life," Baptista said. "Not working out in the offseason is going to be weird. Next year I'm going to go to college and not having to practice is going to be really weird." Baptista's college decision is still up in the air, but she plans to major in marketing and minor in sports management. She wants to be in marketing for a baseball team while maybe playing club or intramural volleyball. "Bellevue volleyball, we're just a family," Baptista said. "We do a lot of team feeds. We do a lot of program and team bonding. It's just a really strong connection. You can look to a girl on the freshman team and she can be your best friend because you play volleyball together." Once the postseason begins, Bellevue has a goal of at least making it to the district final. "I hope Kate can continue to elevate her play and finish out her career playing her absolute best," Petitti said. "I hope for Kate and the rest of the senior class that they can reach a district final game as that is a goal of ours and something we have come up short of the last few years. "Lastly, I hope she enjoys her final moments wearing a Bellevue volleyball jersey."