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Monday, September 1, 2008
Friendly Foes
Western Arkansas, AR
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Martin, Carlson share bond, compete hard against each other
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"We're crazy, I mean really crazy," Carlson said. "Even though we're both super-competitive, we're really outgoing, too, and that's what makes our friendship so special."
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KatyBeth Carlson
Class: Senior
School: Fort Smith Southside
Notable: Has scholarship offers from DePaul, Denver, Memphis, Missouri Southern, and Arkansas- Fort Smith
I'm a pretty good hitter, and I always get excited when I get the chance to have a kill," Carlson said.
Haley Martin
Class: Junior
School: Fayetteville
Notable: All-State Honorable Mention as a sophomore
Quotable: "Haley is a kid who is passionate about volleyball and is always in the gym trying to get better. She is ready to step in and be a leadership position for us this fall," said Fayetteville coach Jessica Phelan.
Beneath the pads protecting her, then-sophomore Haley Martin's knees were quivering. She was intimidated and nervous but knew that she couldn't show any sign of weakness.
As if starting for Fayetteville's volleyball team in 7A West competition wasn't tough enough, Martin battled a team that had 12 straight state semifinals appearances and won six of the past 11 state championships.
Beyond that, though, was something else that was itching at Martin. For 13 months she looked forward to this moment to play, and beat, someone now standing across the net from her.
But at that moment in the heat of the battle, something uncharacteristic and strange happened: That person across the net stuck her tongue out and smiled at Martin.
Thus is the way of the unusual friendship of Martin and KatyBeth Carlson, who moved from Southside to Greenwood weeks before the season (see inset story).
"We're crazy, I mean really crazy," Carlson said. "Even though we're both super-competitive, we're really outgoing, too, and that's what makes our friendship so special."
The girls have one other striking similarity; Both have certificates ranking them as one of the Top 25 volleyball players in Arkansas. Carlson, who's a year older, has another certificate from the same camp called the Arm and Hammer Award, given to the year's top hitter.
"I met KatyBeth two years ago when I made the Ozark Junior Nationals team," Martin said. "After awhile of playing together, we started to hang out."
Formed because of volleyball, the friendship began to blossom and the girls spent more time together, discovering things about each other along the way.
"We can seriously rock it out on Guitar Hero," said Martin, quickly adding in, "But I've been playing longer so I'm better than her."
Even though the girls live in different cities, they've gotten to the point where they'll spend days at a time at each other's house having fun and saving gas.
"The week before our Ozark team went to the national tournament this year, my sister Merideth and I went up and spent the week with Haley," Carlson said. "We all decided that week to dye our hair. I dyed mine blue, Merideth's was pink, and Haley's was orange, and the dye didn't come out until a few weeks later.
The girls enjoyed their time playing together this summer but never lose sight of their competitive spirit. Martin still remembers that night when she first played across the net from Carlson.
"All I could think of was, 'I've got to live up to KatyBeth, I've got to beat her,' " Martin said. "She's always pushed me to be a better player, and I wanted to show her that I could beat her."
The Feds won the game that night on their way to a perfect 14-0 conference mark, but Martin got the final laugh as her Lady Bulldogs competed in the state title game against Bentonville, a team that defeated the Southside squad in the semifinals.
As this season inches closer, though, Carlson still doesn't mind. She won a state title in 2006 and still has another year to rock it out on Guitar Hero, dye her hair, and spend time with her best friend, even if it is from across the net.
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