REXBURG – The volleyball postseason is here so it’s time for any challengers to step up and see if they can beat Madison.

Anyone?

“We have high expectations,” Madison coach Keanu Pukahi said before a recent practice. “Last year we had a good team as well … those are the same expectations this year.”

The three-time state champion Bobcats begin today’s 6A District 4-5-6 tournament unbeaten at 30-0 and have yet to be challenged this season.

At least in Idaho.

Pukahi noted the team’s trip to Utah earlier this month for the Mountain View Champion Challenge tournament proved a good training ground against Utah’s top competition. Skyridge pushed the Bobcats to a fifth game, but Madison pulled out the win 3-2.

“We were very fortunate with that game,” he said. “That gave us motivation to come back to the gym and push us for state. That made us go beyond our limits.”

Madison graduated four seniors off of last year’s championship team but hasn’t missed a beat this year. This season’s team does have eight seniors, so it’s hard to match that kind of postseason experience, Pukahi said.

“This team has exceeded my expectations,” he said. “I expected us to go undefeated last year. We lost two games. This year, if we can go undefeated, it will be a good indicator of how well we compete in the state.”

“Once we started playing we were still super solid,” senior Mia Walsh said, adding there may have been an adjustment period early on with a new setter in the lineup. “We’ve been playing together for so long … I think we’ve kind of connected well as a team.”

The new setter is Camri Call, who is second in the state with 826 assists and is also a senior.

With Call stepping in and stepping up, Walsh said it’s difficult for opponents to game plan against the Bobcats because the team has so many weapons.

Walsh and Torey Parker are among state leaders in hitting percentage, and five different players average at least 2.0 kills per set. Parker has been a force at the net with a team-high 84 blocks.

“When we went to Utah we could see our potential,” Parker said. “These are the good weeks, these are the fun weeks.”

While there might be some pressure to continue the program’s rise to prominence, Pukahi said the team’s experience has been its greatest asset.

“Our chemistry is what makes us good,” Parker said, adding the most of the senior class has been playing together since fourth or fifth grade. “And we want to finish strong.”

As for the team’s legacy, adding another blue trophy would be a nice way to finish, especially for the seniors, Walsh said.

“How we end the season is how we remember it,” she said.

As for the original question about who’s going to challenge the Bobcats in the postseason?

They could have a challenger this week in the district tournament as Rigby has had another strong season and is ranked No. 3 in the latest coaches’ poll.

At the state level, Skyview is a perennial power and will likely be waiting for Madison at the state tournament.

Madison had to beat Skyview twice in last year’s state tournament and prevailed 3-1 and then 3-2 in the championship game.

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