By Aaron Lommers
Everett Herald
Nearly three weeks ago, Archbishop Murphy and Cedar Park Christian-Bothell began a volleyball match that featured two unbeaten teams with first place in the Cascade Conference on the line.
The two teams got just three points into the match before volleyball simply didn’t matter anymore.
Cedar Park Christian head coach Marni Drechsel suffered sudden cardiac arrest and had to be revived in the Eagles’ gymnasium and transported to the hospital. The gym was evacuated while Drechsel was tended to and the match was postponed and eventually rescheduled for Monday night.
“Everything just stops right there,” Archbishop Murphy head coach Brandon Jones said. “It’s just a game and it doesn’t matter anymore. Not one of us was concerned about playing volleyball. It’s about your friend laying over there fighting for her life. That’s how life is — it can be short.”
Luckily for Drechsel and her family, her life was saved that night by the prompt medical attention she received. She spent four days in the hospital and is now recovering at home. She hopes to return to the sidelines soon.
Drechsel’s heart attack shook her players, but none more than her daughter Samantha, a junior who was the 2014 Cascade Conference MVP.
“It was really just a shock,” Samantha Drechsel said. “She’s healthy and she’s pretty active, so I didn’t really believe it happened. I think just this week it started to hit me. This game, I was emotional before it, but getting into it I had peace of mind.”
Samantha Drechsel said her mother suffered a sudden cardiac arrest due to an irregular heartbeat that runs in the family and that she had a device installed that will reduce the risk of a second heart attack.
Archbishop Murphy got the better of Cedar Park Christian in five sets in Monday’s rescheduled match from Sept. 24, handing the Eagles their first loss of the season. Samantha Drechsel did her part in defeat, finishing with 34 kills, 14 digs and one ace.
Jones celebrated with his team after their victory on Monday, but the magnitude of what happened 2½ weeks ago was still fresh in his memory.
“A lot of my girls are really close with Marni and her daughter,” Jones said. “They grew up together. To be here and have that happen, it shook us. We’re still dealing with it, but we’re glad she’s OK. Obviously that’s all that matters.”
The Wildcats wore t-shirts on Monday that read “We Love CPC.” It’s just one of the many ways the Eagles’ opponents have reached out to let them know that they’re thinking about the Drechsel family.
“It’s really overwhelming to see the impact that she’s had on so many other people,” Samantha Drechsel said. “They might not even know her on a personal level, but they’ve been impacted by her Christian character and how she carries herself and how she is with our team. She didn’t know that she had an impact that big and it’s cool to see it coming back to her.”
The Eagles have been led by interim head coach Julie Nelson, who is a former coach for the Eagles.
“The girls have handled it really well,” Nelson said. “They’re very resilient. I’ve kept everything as normal as possible for them. I’ve kept the practice plans the same as Marni would do them. The girls have just really stepped up and been really resilient through this.”
Nelson will continue to coach the Eagles until Drechsel is ready to return.
“I’m keeping the seat warm until she can come back and resume her duties as a head coach,” Nelson said. “She’s going to start getting involved in practices and I’ll probably sit with her on the bench for a few games and then she’ll probably go from there and be the full-time head coach.”
At Cedar Park Christian-Bothell H.S.
Archbishop Murphy 15 25 23 29 15 — 3
CPC-Bothell 25 21 25 27 13 — 2
Highlights—Archbishop Murphy: Jaime Cymbaluk 20 kills; Sam Hayward 21 kills, 6 digs; Lauren Braswell 19 digs, 2 aces; Nat Hayward 10 digs, 1 ace, 44 assists. Cedar Park-Christian Bothell: Samantha Drechsel 1 ace, 34 kills, 14 digs; Chloe Biscup 11 kills, 8 digs, 4 blocks; Tess Biscup 11 kills, 3 blocks, 2 digs; Rachel Kumai 1 ace, 23 digs; Emily McKenzie 2 aces, 2 blockss, 55 assists, 13 digs. Records—Archbishop Murphy 8-1 league, 9-1 overall. Cedar Park Christian-Bothell 8-1, 8-1.
