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The Bears’ junior outside hitter has been part of monumental victories this season. None was more special than last weekend’s thrilling upset of top-ranked Bellarmine Prep in the 4A Narrows League tournament championship match at Mount Tahoma.
That day, she played her best match – a personal-best eight kills, five digs and a perfect serving performance (16-for-16) in the team’s three-game sweep of the Lions.
It is in such a moment that Tiana has wanted to hug her mother, Barb, more than anything. She can’t – Barb McIntosh died of cancer in January. She lost her mother, her best friend and her biggest fan all at once.
“Under the circumstances, she’s handled a very difficult situation in an admirable way,” said Olympia coach Laurie Creighton, whose Bears begin West Central/Southwest bi-district tournament play Friday at Kentwood High School.
THE DIAGNOSIS
Cancer is a difficult word to hear – for anybody. Tiana was no exception.
She had seen other family members battle it before. Both her paternal grandparents had died of cancer when she was a younger girl.
This was different. It started when her mother complained about constant pain and swelling in her lymph nodes in January 2010. Barb saw doctors, who diagnosed her with advanced lymphoma – a cancer of the immune-system cells.
“It didn’t sink in,” said Tiana, 17. “I didn’t want it to hit me. I didn’t want to understand.”
Barb endured months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments at the University of Washington Medical Center. When the cancer continued to spread to other parts of her body, she received stem cell therapy last fall. Nothing seemed to stave off the disease’s cruel progress.
“They caught it too late,” Tiana said. “The tumors were getting bigger. It had developed really far.”
Not long after the diagnosis, Tiana’s father, Randy, and his wife – Tiana’s stepmom, DeAnna – moved into Barb’s home to help take care of Tiana. Barb and Randy were married for 22 years before divorcing when Tiana was 5 years old. The two remained good friends while they raised their only child.
Volleyball was always a key activity in the family – and not just because Barb and Randy were active in South Sound adult recreational leagues.
Randy was one of the founding fathers of the Olympia Volleyball Club in the mid-1980s, and he coached Tiana for five years. He is currently a high school volleyball official. And Barb was known as an active volleyball member with OVC and a supporter in the community.
When news of Barb’s fight with cancer spread throughout the volleyball community, those members took action. They organized a spaghetti feed to raise money so Barb could pay her room and board at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, something that her medical insurance didn’t cover. They raised the $10,000 they needed … and then some.
For Tiana, she had her own volleyball support group – teammates.
Creighton could easily relate. She lost her mother as a ninth-grader. She knew what Tiana was going through.
“People were providing support whatever way they could,” Creighton said. “Everyone had a little different role.”
HER BIGGEST FAN
In Barb’s final months, she attended many of her daughter’s key matches – even if it meant donning a face mask because her immune system was so weak.
The final match Barb saw was another of Olympia’s close victory over Bellarmine Prep – on “Lymphoma Awareness Night” – on Oct. 17, 2010, in the Bears’ gymnasium.
“She loved watching me play,” Tiana said.
More than two months later – Jan. 8, 2011 – Barb died. Tiana had tried to prepare herself to hear the news ever since doctors spoke of her mom’s deteriorating condition weeks earlier. Tiana was right by her mom’s side in her final hours at her Olympia home.
“I think the fact I had a whole year to deal with it, and I knew that something was going to happen, probably prepared me for the worst,” Tiana said. “I was able to handle it a lot better than I would have if it had been faster.”
The teenager took time off to grieve.
After Barb’s death, Tiana spent a week away from school and had a difficult time completing the rest of the semester. Volleyball was the last thing on her mind; school work came first.
The summer months became a healing time. She organized “celebration of life” get-togethers to honor her mom at Hope Island State Park near Steamboat Island, and in Missouri, where Barb was from and where Tiana still has family.
Tiana also began mountain climbing, one of her mom’s hobbies. She has climbed Washington’s Mount Ellinor and Mount Stuart and plans to do three more soon – Mount Adams, Mount Baker and Mount Rainier.
“I think it was really good for me,” Tiana said. “I wanted to do it in honor of her.”
“Her mom was a great lady,” Randy McIntosh said, “and Tiana is taking after her all the way.”
HONORING BARB
In honor of Barb, Olympia held its second “Lymphoma Awareness Night” on Sept. 22 against Tumwater.
The Bears wore special jerseys for the occasion, and proceeds went toward lymphoma research and awareness.
It was an emotional match. Most everyone in the crowed knew Barb. Tiana had played club volleyball with not only some of her Olympia teammates, but also players on the Tumwater squad. Randy McIntosh called it a “touching night.”
Tiana had a standout performance, and the ending couldn’t have been scripted any better. She was 23-for-24 serving with three aces, seven kills and 13 digs in the Bears’ win. Her final serve led to the match-winning point.
“It was really special to her to be able to have an impact in the match and in our success that night,” Creighton said. “She’s a great kid. I’m proud of her, and do wish her the best as she keeps on walking the journey.”
Meg Wochnick: 360-754-5473 mwochnick@theolympian.com www.theolympian.com/southsoundsports
