Iconic La Conner High volleyball coach nets WIAA Hall of Fame honor

For 30 years, Suzanne Marble has preached the power of teamwork.

Now, ironically, at the end of a remarkable career that has seen her guide La Conner High School volleyball teams to over 550 wins and seven state championships, Marble is collecting a series of individual honors and awards.

The most recent was induction last Wednesday into the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) Hall of Fame during luncheon ceremonies in Renton.

Marble was inducted as part of a 2023 Hall of Fame class that includes Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell, a former Garfield High and University of Washington football standout, and Washington State University volleyball coach Jennifer Stinson-Greeny.

"It was a great thing to be part of," Marble told the Weekly News afterward. "During the luncheon, I was looking around and asking myself 'how did this happen?'"

WIAA officials had the answer.

They praised Marble for having redefined success in Washington state sports, creating an expectation of success that extends beyond the volleyball court. Her teams are known almost as much for their public service projects as for carting away hardware from state tournaments.

"This award has nothing to do with one person," Marble insisted on Thursday. "It's about 30 years of young women and their accomplishments here as student-athletes and later continuing to achieve their goals as adults."

Those attending the induction program learned that under Marble, the volleyball team's toughest opponent has been a global pandemic. Only COVID-19, which forced cancellation of the 2020 Washington State 2B Volleyball Tournament, interrupted a string of La Conner net titles dating from 2018 to last November.

Marble was saluted for having built "perhaps the most prolific resume in Washington volleyball history."

In addition to the seven state crowns, Marble's teams have placed second at state five times and third twice. The Lady Braves have brought home four other Top-8 trophies from state trials as well.

The program's more recent championship runs have been particularly special for Marble as her daughter, Ellie, a La Conner High School senior and Central Washington University volleyball recruit, has shared in the state tourney trophy presentations.

Ellie Marble joined other family members and supporters for the induction festivities.

"It was really cool," she said. "I knew it was big, but I didn't realize that it was that big. It's a cool honor for mom and the school, too."

Other honors bestowed upon coach Marble in recent months include her selection as the 2023 Skagit County Pioneer Association Spirit Award recipient and the 2022 regional and national American Volleyball Coaches Association Coach of the Year.

Marble is equally proud that La Conner volleyball teams have earned three State Academic Championship awards during her tenure.

"How many times have we ever had someone academically ineligible?" she asked in a clear nod to her players' commitment to taking care of business in the classroom.

As a teacher, Marble has employed the same motivational skills that she has shown on the coaching bench. She has taught variously at the elementary and secondary levels, mentoring students in their embrace of leadership skills and lifetime physical fitness. In the past couple years, she has led high school phys ed classes on bike rides with local retirees who cycle around town for exercise.

Already a member of the Washington State Coaches Association (WSCA) Hall of Fame, Marble was lauded in Renton for the enduring impact she has had on her players and the sense of service to community she instills in them.

Each volleyball season, for instance, Marble has scheduled a "Dig Pink" La Conner home match where funds are raised for cancer research.

None of that has gone unnoticed by the WIAA, comprised of more than 800 member schools committed to supporting academic, athletic, and other activities for over 225,000 students across Washington.

"This class of inductees," WIAA Executive Director Mick Hoffman said of Marble and her fellow honorees, "represents not only how education-based activities benefit the culture of a school and community, but also how sports and activities provide an avenue for the community and its leaders to make a positive impact on the next generation."