Athletic competition can turn the best of friends into fierce enemies.

But only for about an hour and a half, says Allie Hutcheson.

Kennedy’s talented senior setter has battled regularly against some of the top volleyball players in the region – and also played side by side with them as teammates on her highly competitive Iowa Rockets USA Volleyball Club squad. They’re best of friends, she says.

Chances are friends will meet as foes again during this week’s state volleyball tournament that begins Wednesday at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.

“It’s always a little weird because you want to joke around with them and have fun,” says Hutcheson, who is nothing if not outgoing.

“But for that hour and a half or two hours they’re your worst enemy, and there’s always that rivalry where you want the bragging rights and you want to beat them. It’s a little bit of extra drive during the game.”

Hutcheson, who began playing volleyball in grade school with the Kennedy Cougar Club, has honed her skills for several years with the Iowa Rockets, playing in tournaments around the country. The experience has shaped her as a person and a volleyball player, she says.

“It’s built me to be more of a leader, let me know a lot of girls from around Iowa and the nation, putting myself out there and being kind of bold and being able to throw myself into unique situations on the court and off the court.”

Along the way, she has developed close friendships with Rockets teammates Anna Pashkova and Shelly Stumpff of Iowa City West and City High’s Erin Muir and Caitlin Ward.

She was also friends with Rockets Club member Caroline Found, the Iowa City West player who died in a moped accident earlier this fall. Dealing with that tragedy has been one of the greatest challenges of her life, she says.

“It brought our Rockets family closer together and helped me put things in perspective as far as staying close to your friends and family and not taking things for granted. It was a tough time but also a learning time.”

While the 7th-ranked Cougars aren’t looking past their first-round opponent, fourth-ranked Dubuque Hempstead, Hutcheson knows she could face off against members of her Rockets family one last time in a semifinal matchup with No. 1 Iowa City West and, should the Cougars prevail in that contest, could meet No. 2 City High in the finals.

The Cougars lost once to Iowa City West and four times to City High during the regular season – a fact that doesn’t particularly concern Hutcheson.

“Getting beat by someone all season kind of stinks,” she says, “but it’s not necessarily a bad thing, because when you meet them at state they’re thinking, ‘We’ve beat this team before,’ but then we have that hunger to give it back to them.”

As Kennedy makes its fourth consecutive run at a state title, she says, this year’s Cougars are up to the challenge.

“We’ve really grown and seen ourselves progress from where we were at beginning of the season. This year we’re a different kind of team. We have so many components, and the way we play together this year is unique.”

Whatever the Cougars’ fate, the left-handed Hutcheson is likely to figure prominently in the outcome. In her first year as a setter after playing outside hitter for three years, she led the team with 267 kills and 735 assists.

“When she’s attacking, she might very well be our most dynamic attacker that has come through the program since I’ve been here the last 13 years,” said Kennedy Coach Michelle Goodall. “With her left-handedness and being on that right pin, it’s just a different angle. Her contact point is very high, and she’s able to hit around and over blocks so she’s very successful.

“As far as setting, she’s a great floor leader, which is a great attribute for a setter, and she has the physical qualities. Her jump set in the middle is spot on, and she still works on her feet every day in practice.”

A Mississippi Valley Conference Mississippi Division first team pick along with Cougar teammate Lexi Rogers, Hutcheson agrees that being a lefty has helped her become a dominant player.

“It gives you a lot of attacking options, and being at the net it’s easier to attack on the second ball. It gives you something that’s a little bit sneaky that people don’t always expect from a setter.”

A lean but powerful 6-foot-1, Hutcheson comes from a family of athletes. Her father, Todd, played basketball at Western Illinois University, and brothers Tige and Trey are multi-sport athletes.

But her volleyball instincts doubtless come from her mother and first coach, Cindy Wenndt Hutcheson, who excelled in basketball, softball and volleyball at Coe College and was inducted into the Kokawk Hall of Fame in 1994.

Allie, who also plays soccer for Kennedy, played both basketball and volleyball as a freshman. She ultimately chose volleyball over hoops, she says, because it offers the non-stop action that she relishes.

“I love the energy of volleyball, just how everything happens so fast and there’s something happening every minute and it’s always exciting.”

As she prepares for her final test as a Cougar before heading to Division I Northern Colorado next season, Hutcheson sees her role as one of helping her teammates with the mental as well as the physical aspects of the state title quest.

“I’m a really emotional player. I try to be a leader on the team in terms of keeping everyone’s head on straight and making sure everything is distributed right. The first time I went to state I was very nervous and jittery. Now it’s like I’m so excited to be here and to be in this situation. It’s a good energy rather than an ‘Oh my gosh I’m scared’ energy.”

The versatile lefty may not sneak up on anyone at this year’s tournament, but with the confidence that comes from holding her own alongside many of the state’s best players, this Rocket is ready to launch.