Honoring Hall of Fame coach Suzanne Marble Oct. 13

La Conner High School volleyball players have given their fans plenty of reasons to celebrate over the past three decades – starting with six state titles.

Now the La Conner community has an opportunity to celebrate the Hall of Fame coach who since 1993 has been the program's guiding force.

Suzanne Marble, who topped the 500-career win mark two years ago, again has her team aiming for top state honors in her 30th and final net campaign.

In recognition of Marble's many contributions here as a teacher and coach, longtime assistant Pam Keller and other Lady Braves alumni have organized "Celebrating Coach Marble" Oct. 13, coinciding with a home match with Mount Vernon.

Event coordinators say the gathering, set for 6:30 p.m. at Landy James Gym, provides a chance for the public "to thank and support coach Marble for all she has done for La Conner volleyball."

During her tenure, teams have collected a half-dozen state championship trophies along with other hardware reflecting strong state and invitational tourney finishes.

From the start, Marble had the look of a winner. Her youthful enthusiasm in the classroom and on the court made a quick – and favorable – impression.

"I was an elementary parent when Suzanne came to La Conner," recalls middle and high school counselor Lori Buher. "I remember her funny little 'college car' that she parked out in front each day. I used to smile to myself every time I saw it – fresh out of college and into the real world!"

When Buher later came on staff, she saw first-hand the passion Marble brought to her role as a teacher-coach.

"As the elementary secretary so many years ago," said Buher, "I always appreciated how Suzanne fought for her students. When she saw a need, she didn't stop until that need was met. She is still that person today."

Her current and former players concur.

"What makes her a great coach and how she was so successful over 30 years was how she always brought a team together by hard work and mutual respect," said Julie Hulbert Marble, one of the celebration coordinators and who is among players who later competed at the collegiate level. "Every year there was different talent, but she always encouraged a positive team dynamic."

Coach Marble, grew up in Spokane and attended college in coastal California, arriving at a time when La Conner volleyball was on the ascent, having achieved regular state qualifier status under Lady Braves mentor Maureen McMahan.

Marble built upon that foundation, raising the program to new heights, starting with a 2002 state championship run.

State crowns followed in 2006, when the Lady Braves won 60 consecutive sets, and again in 2007.

Before that, there were near misses when La Conner competed at the 1A level. They were state runners-up to Colfax in 2004 and 2005.

Always in contention, teams nevertheless had to endure a decade's wait before returning to the gold standard. The Lady Braves captured a fourth state championship in 2018 – three years after Marble's hall of fame induction – behind tournament most valuable player Matty Lagerwey, now competing in track and field at Western Washington University.

They repeated as state champs in 2019 with Marble reaching the 500-win plateau early on.

Typically, she deflected attention from herself.

"Five hundred is a big number," Marble told the Weekly News at the time, "but it truly isn't about the wins. Instead, it's the relationships, community and volleyball culture for us."

La Conner was the odds-on favorite to win state once more in 2020, but that season was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. An abbreviated 11-match schedule was employed the following spring. Not surprisingly, La Conner went undefeated.

A dominant fall 2021 season, during which Marble's daughter, Ellie, an outside hitter, was named state 2B Player of the Year, ended with La Conner claiming state gold a sixth time.

Naturally, Marble has long been on the radar of larger schools, and La Conner has defeated many in non-conference meetings. But she has never felt tempted to leave.

"The great thing about a school our size," she said in a prior interview with the Weekly News, "is we're always building upon what you have. At a big school, they might cut 70 kids or more. Here, with our smaller enrollment, you have the opportunity to help all players develop their skills."

Marble shares credit with Keller for the school's extraordinary success.

"Pam," she stressed, "is a huge factor and we're so fortunate to have her."

Fans, of course, have been saying the same about Marble