Poway’s Mackenzie Parsons, already taller than anyone on the court at 6-foot-2, went up, and using her best volleyball swing, spiked the ball.
Oooops — this was an early-season basketball game.
“There was a scramble play,” explained Parsons, “and I just hit the ball out really hard using a swinging technique. My team just laughed, and the other team was mostly confused.”
That’s what happens when, after a full volleyball season of slamming the ball, you find yourself playing basketball. Of course, as soon as she hit the ball she realized it was heavier than the volleyball. And it was orange.
So, is Mackenzie Parsons a volleyball player who also stars in basketball, or a basketball player who also is among the top middle-blockers in the section?
Both.
But after this basketball season, which starts Tuesday for the Titans at Scripps Ranch, she’ll be focusing on volleyball when she goes off to Cornell University, which made her one of the Ivy League school’s prime recruits.
For a while Parsons seriously considered dropping basketball, a sport in which she was All-Section second team a year ago, but Poway volleyball coach Breezy Ambort, a three-sport star at University City High, convinced her to keep playing both.
“I encouraged her to play basketball,” said Ambort, whose Titans recently wrapped up a 23-17 volleyball season with a 3-0 setback to Del Norte in the Southern California Regional semifinals after finishing second in the section Division I championships.
“No one does it (plays multiple sports) much any more, but it’s a lot like cross-training. You use different muscles in the two sports and I think it reduces the wear and tear on their bodies. Going up and blocking a shot in basketball is different than a block in volleyball. I really don’t see a downside to doing multiple sports.”
Parsons recorded 587 kills with a whopping 50.4 kill percentage, in addition to collecting 94 blocks.
“She is a dominant middle-blocker,” Ambort said. “You don’t see many of that caliber in the entire country. I think Cornell will focus on making her more aggressive offensively and because she enjoys the camaraderie of team sports, she’ll do very well.
“Mackenzie was a basketball player who played club volleyball and she came to us as a sophomore. She wanted another sport, something new.”
Asked which was her favorite sport, Parsons demurred.
“I couldn’t pick one over the other, but I’d say basketball is 10 times more intensive,” said Parsons who started playing club volleyball as a 13-year-old. “In basketball there is a lot of cardio and you need better hand-eye coordination. Shooting is my strength but it’s a lot harder than volleyball — the hoop is such a small target.
“Of course, basketball is way more physical while volleyball requires a lot of mental skill. I think basketball requires more athleticism.
“Still, since Cornell offered in volleyball, I guess that’ll be my main focus after this season. I can always play club basketball if I want.”
She said she hopes to have a huge basketball season this winter and improve on her 14.4 scoring and 14.3 rebounding averages from a year ago on a 24-5 team.
Coach Carissa Jones-Fletcher can hardly wait — all five starters return and the Titans have jumped from the Avocado to the Palomar League where perennial powers Mission Hills, Del Norte and Westview await.
“Mackenzie is a ball of energy, she never lags and is one of the goofiest players ever — in a good way,” Jones-Fletcher said. “She always gives 100 percent. She was raised properly to handle anything. She talks things out, asking ‘why?’ so she understands it.
“I expect her to put up numbers like last year and later in the season she’ll hit 1,000 career points.”
Asked about her juggling two sports, Jones-Fletcher totally understands.
“I want her to do whatever makes her happy,” the coach said. “There’s a lot to balance in college and she’ll be very successful whatever she does.”
Parsons will have no trouble staying busy, even after basketball, since in addition to maintaining a 4.2 GPA, she is the senior class president.
“I’ve been in ASB since the fifth grade and I love it,” she said. “Last year I planned the prom and it’s so rewarding to see a goal work out. This year I’m overlooking the senior trip to Disneyland, the senior dance and the senior talent show.
“I love being on a team and ASB is like being on a team.”
