Even though it would never show in the wins/loses column, the one thing that everyone was sure of was that the carousel of coaches had stopped.  This staff was staying here, and indeed, it was getting serious.

 Then I had this moment, this rush of realization that this was special.  In the back seat our lovely friend Jaime laughed so easily, so freely, and in the seat in front of her, I cried joyful tears, laughing through them.  Jaime Moran was in a special place, and I just felt so damned privileged to share it that day.

After Ellen's sixth year at Plum, an opportunity came up for a position at Allegheny Ludlum, in the Alloy Testing Lab.  It was a difficult decision to make, teaching jobs just weren't opening up.  Getting a job at Ludlum was like hitting the lottery at that time.

I used to tease Ellen that I wanted her to play one match as Mrs. Toy, but after renouncing her scholarship, it didn't look good.  Fate would have it that a nasty flu bug was going around Pitt, so with Ellen commuting, she didn't get it, but the volleyball team did.  Coach Collier needed a sub, and Mrs. Toy came to the rescue!

The shame was someone had to lose, but on this day it was not going to be the Plum Mustangs!  The final point set off a celebration and release of tension like nothing I have ever experienced!  Pure joy!  Ellen Toy and the Plum Mustangs, State Champions!

If you just read my last chapter, "Coaching Plum, wearing purple?" you probably think the best part of our first year at Plum had to be winning that state championship.  Whelp, not even close...
You see, the best part, was meeting an extraordinary family, not knowing that their strength would be the lesson we were there to learn. 

Ellen had already made volleyball such a big part of her life.  She had attended camps and played club ball, well before that was common, getting as much experience as she could.  In her junior year,

Some of my first recollections of Ellen Mangus were of this spindly 7th grader that the Kiski varsity volleyball coach Colleen Herbeck was allowing to practice with the team.

I believe life consists of millions of busy intersections.  Sometimes we get safely through them, and sometimes we collide.