Senior Marissa McCrea has seen both sides of the Polson-Ronan rivalry

Ronan senior libero Marissa McCrea knows a thing or two about

the Ronan-Polson rivalry: she's been on both sides of it. In fact,

she was born into it.

RONAN - Ronan senior libero Marissa McCrea knows a thing or two about the Ronan-Polson rivalry: she's been on both sides of it. In fact, she was born into it.

"I was born and raised in Polson, my husband, Randy was born and raised in Ronan. So in the beginning there was always disagreements on what school was better," her mother Danyel McCrea said.

Marissa was born and raised in Ronan until seventh grade, when her family bought a house in Polson and moved away from the land of Black and Orange. While her favorite sport was softball, she found a knack for volleyball as she grew older.

"I didn't start to get serious until high school," Marissa said.

She entered the Polson volleyball program at the right time, as head coach Jan Toth was trying to build up a Lady Pirates program that had lacked success and needed a turnaround. Marissa said that she was constantly pushed by Toth to do her best.

"Coach Toth brought me to my potential," Marissa said. "She knew I could be a really good defensive specialist."

Toth also saw the talent in McCrea.

"Marissa had and always will be one of the toughest defensive players I've coached," Toth said. "She has a nose for the ball."

However, before her junior year in high school, McCrea's family moved back to Ronan and she was left with a decision: stay or go?

She decided to make the commute to Polson and while holding down a job and school, she continued to play for the volleyball team.

"We weren't crazy about her driving back and forth, especially in the winter and she was an inexperienced driver," Danyel said. "On top of that she had sports activities and a job after school. It was challenging."

Midway through her junior year, Marissa finally decided she should transfer back to Ronan because the commute was just too much of a drain on her. It came at a price though, as she would have to miss softball at the end of her junior year because of an ineligibility rule for transferring students.

"It was a change for all of us, getting to know a new group of people, sports parents and a new school routine," Danyel said.

Moving to Ronan did reintroduce McCrea to her childhood again.

"It brings back a lot of memories," she said. "I see a lot of people that I haven't seen since I was a kid."

When volleyball season started this fall, Marissa wasn't the only new face on the team. Junior Tuesday Salmon and senior Brook Deneault also transferred from Polson. They also had a new coach, Naomi Mock. The Maidens started the season as a team that didn't have previous success, but Mock has already made a huge difference with the Maidens. Ronan currently sits third in the conference with a 4-3 record.

"She's not a negative person at all, she's so positive," Marissa said. "She knows we have the talent, she's still trying to bring it out of us."

This season, McCrea has been playing libero and has been the most impressive defensive force in the conference, leading Northwestern A in digs with 182, 70 more than her nearest competitor.

"She's just one of those kids that wants it," Mock said. "She loves volleyball."

McCrea has also shown a lot of maturity in her senior year.

"When Marissa needs to be serious she is, but for the most part she is a ‘jokester,'" Danyel said. "Last year she was voted ‘Funniest and Team Trouble Maker' without hesitation I might add, from the Polson Varsity Volleyball team. We have really noticed a good change in Marissa this senior year. She has settled down and has been working hard on scholarships and making good choices when it comes to peer pressure."

Earlier this season on Sept. 25, McCrea faced her old team as the Maidens and Lady Pirates squared off for the first time this season. Ronan came out with fire and won the first game 25-18, before losing the next three. It was the first time in recent memory that Ronan had taken a game from Polson.

"It felt amazing," McCrea said. "It just felt great to be with the team I'm playing with. Ronan hasn't done that in a while."

McCrea led all players with 13 digs in the match, but the most telling moment of the night was a hug shared between Toth and her during pregame introductions.

"I never thought I'd experience [the rivalry] from both sides," McCrea said. "It's definitely different. When Jan hugged me it was nice to know she still cared even though we were rivals."

McCrea, Salmon and Deneault all have the rare experience of being on both sides of the Mission Mountain rivalry, but it seems to be something that McCrea enjoys.

"It's nice to have that winning streak [in Polson] but then it's nice coming to a new team and helping build it up," she said.

McCrea said she feels like this team has potential to go to state, which would be a great turnaround story for the Maidens and a great ending to her high school career.

"I'm excited to see the next Polson game," she said.