‘We all mesh well together’: Archer’s return to volleyball court helps Indians become contender

PAYSON, Ill. — You can take Ella Archer out of volleyball, but you can’t take volleyball out of Ella Archer.

The Payson Seymour do-everything senior, who also plays softball and basketball, decided to step away from volleyball during her junior year.

“I just needed a break, a little time off to kind of regroup,” Archer said.

She couldn’t stay away for long.

“We would play in gym class and I’d be like, ‘Ummm, I kind of miss this,’” Archer said. “I went to a couple games and I was like, ‘That looks pretty fun.’ It just made me excited to start playing over the summer. It was definitely a little bit of a shock getting back into it. It was definitely weird.

“Luckily, it all came back after a few open gyms and practices.”

Indians coach Stacy Gilmore was ecstatic to see a familiar face again.

“I was super excited this summer when she started coming to open gyms and she wanted to play again,” Gilmore said.

Other than shaking off a little rust, Gilmore said it appeared as if Archer had hardly skipped a beat despite almost two calendar years without playing competitive volleyball.

“I’m very impressed,” Gilmore said. “Setting kind of was a struggle getting back in the groove of that, but it was amazing to me how easily it came back to her. It’s a natural talent she has.”

Archer has the ability to play setter, middle blocker and right side hitter, allowing Gilmore to shuffle lineups as needed and setting an example for an all-together young Payson team to follow.

“It’s gold. It’s literally gold,” Gilmore said. “She’s got the height to be in the front row. She’s strong, she’s quick, she’s good with her hands. You couldn’t ask for a better option to put on the court. For the younger girls to be able to see how Ella can adjust and adapt to any position she’s needed at at any point just cascades throughout the entire team. It’s amazing.”

Archer only started playing in the middle her sophomore year, so taking a season off after learning a new position threw another wrinkle into her return to the court.

“The rotations were definitely tricky, just remembering them and switching and things like that,” Archer said. “But as far as the different plays and stuff, it wasn’t terrible.”

As Archer got reacclimated and the Indians’ first game of the season Aug. 28 against Beardstown at home approached, she felt some anxiety.

“We did our run out of the tunnel, and I was freaking out. I was like, ‘Don’t fall, don’t fall,’” Archer said. “Then the whole time I’m warming up I’m just taking deep breaths, but as soon as we did our hitting lines and I set the first ball, I was like, ‘OK, we’re fine.’ The anticipation up to that was a lot, but it was exciting.”

Archer delivered a well-rounded performance, as the Indians defeated Beardstown in straight sets and Archer finished with five kills and two blocks and led the team with 10 assists.

She followed that up by leading the Indians to a 3-2 showing in the Lady Suns Classic at Southeastern last week — the only losses came to Camp Point Central and Illini West, which both went 4-1 in the tournament — while making the all-tournament team

“To have that kind of talent, especially from somebody who sat out a year, is phenomenal,” Gilmore said. “It’s a huge asset to the team.”

A team that, in Archer’s eyes, has all the makings of a true contender.

“We all mesh well together. We can fill all the positions,” Archer said. “We can switch things up and still have all the pieces. The energy we have when we’re on is really good.”

And now that Archer is back as a team captain and a crucial piece of that puzzle, Gilmore can’t wait to see what she can help this group accomplish.

“She always has a positive attitude,” Gilmore said. “I can’t ask for a better role model for the younger players.”