BAYFIELD
Fierce and dedicated. There is no better way to describe Jade Pascale.
The Bayfield High School senior is coming off the most trying months of her athletic career. Pascale, a star on the Wolverines’ volleyball team, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee during the Lewis-Palmer tournament on Sept. 9 in Monument. The 5-foot-10 outside hitter/middle blocker saw her senior season come to a quick end, and it brought some doubt into her chance to play in college.
Pascale, daughter of Casey and Corrine Pascale, had verbally committed to NCAA Division II Colorado Mesa University in April. After her injury, she immediately called Mavericks coach Dave Fleming and explained to him what happened. Two months after her injury, Pascale signed her National Letter of Intent to play at Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction during a signing ceremony Wednesday at Bayfield High School.
“I was so terrified when it first happened,” Pascale said of her injury. “‘Oh my gosh, he’s gonna tell me I can’t play for them.’ That was the first thing that popped in my mind, I’m not playing college volleyball.
“But I called him after it happened. Explained everything that happened and told him I’d work super hard to get back as fast as I could, and he knows that I can and trusted me that I can get back. That was super cool of him not just not give up on me.”
Pascale has undeniable ability to play at the net. She hits the volleyball with a thunder and oozes competitiveness on the floor. That made her a target of college volleyball coaches, including several other Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference programs.
In 207 sets played, Pascale recorded 319 kills and 134 blocks. During her junior season, Pascale dominated with 192 kills in 81 sets while hitting .309.
“She is unapologetically competitive,” said former BHS head coach Terene Foutz, who coached Pascale in high school for three years and spent countless hours coaching her during the club season. “Sometimes at a high school or middle school situation, that can be misinterpreted, but it is one of the coolest things about her. She is unafraid and uninhibited in the clutch. If the score is tied, I want Jade to get the ball.”
Pascale worked her way onto a varsity team loaded with talent, including All-American Kirstie Hillyer, as a freshman. Foutz saw potential in Pascale and took a shot putting the young talent on the varsity roster. She wasn’t disappointed.
“We certainly like grabbing athletic kids at a young age,” Foutz said. “She made a decision early on the way she was competing with a very senior-loaded group freshman year. She had to make that decision early. Her and I had this banter: ‘Are you varsity, or are you a freshman?’ She made that decision consciously and trained that way and developed that way and put time in during the offseason. Once she did that, her pace was her own, and it was a privilege to watch.”
Pascale credited Foutz for making her a college-level player, noting the hours they would spend together in training each day after school. Foutz also went to Colorado Mesa University, formerly Mesa State College, and was a two-time All-RMAC selection.
“Anything I could do to make me a better volleyball player, everything that I really needed at that time, Terene gave that to me,” Pascale said.
After the injury ended her senior season, Pascale didn’t slump on the bench. She picked up a clipboard and became an assistant coach to Danica Frost. Pascale said she learned more about the game while watching all season.
“She was so valuable to have on the bench,” Frost said. “I would’ve preferred to have her on the court. She really was an assistant coach for these girls. She knows the game and can see things, even on the bench.”
Pascale also recored 61 aces in her career. None will be as memorable as her last. Pascale convinced Frost to put her in the starting lineup on senior night, and Frost agreed to let her serve if she could prove she could do it safely. After hitting 50 serves in front of athletic trainer Brandi Wenzlau, Pascale was allowed to step on the court at BHS one last time. She recorded an ace on her first serve and got to serve for a second point. She served up another good ball in play.
“I told myself, I cannot miss my serve when I go in. That’s something I cannot do,” she said. “I was ready. I went in, and I was so nervous. It’s been a long time since I was nervous for a volleyball game. I walked back there and was like, ‘Whoa, there’s a lot of people in here.’ ... It was proof when I got that ace. It really was special for me to play with all my girls for one last time. It made me appreciate volleyball even more.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
