Northwest Junior Jamboree
February 25 & 26, 2006 @ Yakima, WA

Cowlitz 12 Blue showed up at the Yakima tournament with something to prove this weekend. It was a very rewarding weekend for the players and the coaching staff. Every member of the team contributed to the success we experienced this weekend. Cowlitz 12 Blue finished 7th out of 19 teams and finished 1st in the Division I-B playoff bracket. So to answer the never ending question, "Will we ever win a t-shirt?" Why "YES" they did, and in convincing fashion!

Cowlitz 12 Blue arrived Friday evening full of excitement and energy. All the players showed their team spirit by creating a door decoration for each of their teammates and coaches. Nice job girls! Saturday morning, 12 Blue shared a wonderful breakfast at the Waffle House with 12 Black. Their secret sisters were revealed. Many of the players knew who their secret sister was because they are far too smart and observant for their own good! We departed from the Waffle House to catch the 18 Blue's match across town. The girls enjoyed the match and 18 Blue thanked them for coming.

Saturday afternoon, Cowlitz 12 Blue faced their first opponent of the tournament, the Pink Panthers. The girls were fired up and ready to play. In the first game, 12 Blue won in convincing fashion 25-15. Erin Skeie and Tara Zandi led the team with consistent serving. Rikki Hall backed them up with a couple of ace serves as well. Serve receive was much improved. Leading passers were Megan Schulz, Kayla Maki, and Erin Skeie. The team made the second game a little to close for the coaches' comfort, but they pulled it out in the end winning 25-23. The awesome serving of Justice Allegar, Meagan Hollis, Tara Zandi, Madeline Buckhalter, and Taylor Blanchard led the way. Taylor Blanchard came off the bench and made some critical serves when we really needed them. Passing stars included Megan Schulz, Tara Zandi, Rikki Hall, and Taylor Blanchard.

The second match of the day was against the Desert Stingers Black. 12 Blue did not mess around and won 25-7, 25-14. The strong serving of Megan Schulz and Tara Zandi was too much for the Stingers to handle in the first game. The Stingers continued to struggle with their serve receive in the second game and 12 Blue continued to serve strong. Taylor Blanchard, Rikki Hall, Meagan Hollis, and Kayla Maki contributed tough serving for the win.

After all the excitement over the first two matches, 12 Blue lost their focus when they played Team Yakima Gold for their last match of the day. Team Yakima Gold served tough and 12 Blue struggled with serve receive. Yakima Gold defeated 12 Blue 13-25, 6-25. Overall, the team played very well and we were proud to place 2nd in our pool for the day.

Sunday morning proved to be a tough pool play for Cowlitz 12 Blue. Right out of the gates, they faced West Valley Juniors, who ended up taking first in the tournament. West Valley's serve and net play was too much for 12 Blue to handle in the first game, losing 2-25. The team bounced back and stayed with them the second game, but lost 15-25. This was a tough loss, but I think the team came to the conclusion that this was a beatable team, we just need to work harder on becoming more consistent and confident in our serve receive.

The second match of the morning was against MAC Black. Cowlitz 12 Blue passed well, but could not get the ball to fall in their favor. 12 Blue dropped the first game 10-25. In the second game, 12 Blue made the competition a little closer. Led by the consistent serving of Erin Skeie, Meagan Hollis and Kayla Maki, 12 Blue came close but lost 22-25. Megan Schulz, Kayla Maki, Tara Zandi, Justice Allegar, and Meagan Hollis provided the team with tough defense and passing.

The third match of the day was against the Desert Stingers Gold. Cowlitz 12 Blue won 25-18, 25-14. Bekka Grendahl was on fire, rattling off five points right off the bat. Kayla Maki, Tara Zandi, and Megan Schulz also contributed consistent serving. In the second game, Taylor Blanchard served for five points, two for ace serves. Madeline Buckhalter contributed two ace serves and consistent passing. Erin Skeie served up eight points, two for ace serves. Way to finish pool play strong, 12 Blue!

After a tough morning, 12 Blue was still going strong. Their goal was to win the Division I-B Bracket, and they were not going to let anyone come between them and winning a coveted t-shirt! The afternoon bracket play was to take place at McClure Elementary. "Hey parents, does anyone have a flash light we can use?" Those of you who were there know what I am talking about!

Our first match in the single elimination playoffs was against Power Surge. The first game was a real nail biter! I think the team is trying to make the coaching staff turn completely gray before the season is over. The game ended in victory for 12 Blue. The team really dug their heels in and did not budge, winning 28-26. Timely scoring and a never-say-die attitude pushed 12 Blue across the finish line. Strong serving was provided by Megan Schulz and Tara Zandi. Passing heroes were Kayla Maki, Meagan Hollis and Tara Zandi. 12 Blue dominated the second game with strong serving, winning 25-18. Once again, Taylor Blanchard came of the bench and provided the team with crucial serving. Madeline Buckhalter served up three points including an ace. Justice Allegar, Erin Skeie, and Tara Zandi also provided consistent serving. Meagan Hollis helped the team out with good hustle on defense and serve receive.

The last opponent standing between 12 Blue and the coveted Yakima tournament t-shirt was Team Nemesis. Nemesis says it all, don't you think?! This was going to be a tough match. Once again the first game was a close one 26-24. 12 Blue dropped the second game 15-25. In the end, 12 Blue prevailed in the third game 15-12, winning the Division I-B bracket. Erin Skeie was feeling ill, but she came off the bench and provided the team with consistent serving once again. The team was ecstatic over the win and the coaches could not be more proud of their accomplishment. Team members forgot to go to the end line after match point as team and parents alike were on the floor celebrating.

Thanks to all the parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, etc. for their assistance with the team over the weekend and for all of your support. We couldn't do it without you. A special thank you to 12 Black for cheering us on in our matches. Your team spirit is a reflection of how the Cowlitz Volleyball Club works together for the success of all teams and players.

The coaches would like to extend a special thanks to the team for their good behavior over the weekend. We enjoyed getting to know each of you better. We hope you had an awesome time. Keep up the good work 12 Blue!!!

Athletes Corner Tournament
February 5, 2006 @ Mt Solo Middle School - Longview, WA

Cowlitz 12 Blue took 3rd place at the Athlete's Corner Tournament on Sunday 2/5/06. 12 Blue continues to serve well with a 79% accuracy ratio. Serve receive snuck up on us in our 3rd match and we continued to struggle with it for the remainder of the tournament.

Blue won the 1st match against Wind River 25-9 and 25-9 led by the super serving of Erin Skeie and Tara Zandi. Rikki Hall and Meagan Hollis each had awesome saves which allowed Blue to keep the serve and rack up the points!

Blue won the 2nd match against North Clackamas 11 Silver 25-18 and 25-13. Serving was led by Erin Skeie, Rikki Hall, and Justice Allegar. Tara Zandi and Bekka Grendahl each had some good passes. The win against North Clackamas gave the girls the excitement and momentum to face our own 12 Black.

12 Blue came out tough and took an early lead against 12 Black with the serving of Meagan Hollis and Kayla Maki. Meagan Hollis, Erin Skeie, and Tara Zandi each had phenomenal saves, but unfortunately the serve receive cloud came over us and Blue lost the match 25-22 and 25-15. Bekka Grendahl led serving in the 2nd set.

After a rest Blue came out strong against Lakeside Blue with excellent serving by Meagan Hollis, Kayla Maki, Erin Skeie, and Tara Zandi, however again serve receive caused the match loss 26-24 and 25-12.

Even though the Seahawks were starring in the Super Bowl, Blue was anxious to finish out the day and took a win against North Clackamas 25-18. Serving was led by Kayla Maki, Erin Skeie, and Tara Zandi. Justice Allegar and Tara Zandi each had saves which contributed to the win!

We couldn't be more proud of how far these girls have come. Practices will be all about serve receive so watch out for Blue in our upcoming tournaments in Beaverton and then on to Yakima!

Power League Qualifier
January 21, 2006 @ The Courts - Beaverton, OR

At the CEVA Power League Qualifier on Saturday, Cowlitz 12 Blue entered pool play ranked 19th and came home ranked 14th in the Silver Division!

Blue started out sleepy in the first match against Rose City Mizuno. The 1st set was a defeat 25-2 where Blue struggled with their serve receive and communication. The girls got pumped up in the 2nd set, improving their serving to 70% accuracy with serving led by Kayla Maki. There were awesome saves by Meagan Hollis, Rikki Hall, and Tara Zandi. Unfortunately, serve receive continued to be a struggle for Blue which caused the defeat of 25-16.

Blue's 2nd match was a win against Bridgetown 12 Navy 19-25, 25-16, 19-17. Blue's serving accuracy was 72% in the 1st set with serving led by Tara Zandi. Again, serve receive was the contributor to the loss of the 1st set. Service remained consistent in the 2nd set with serving again led by Tara Zandi. It was the awesome serving by all 6 servers which gave Blue the win in the 2nd set along with 2 great hits by Kayla Maki. The 3rd set was a nail-biter, but again consistent serving, led by Tara Zandi, gave Blue the win & match against Bridgetown.

Blue entered our 3rd match against Scappoose 12 Gray pumped up and ready to go. Blue won the match in 3 sets, 19-25, 25-4, 15-4. Serving won the last 2 sets. In set #2 Taylor Blanchard and Erin Skeie blew Scappoose away with accurate serves with a combined total of 12 service points and Tara Zandi served Scappoose up with 6 aces and a total of 10 service points. In set #3 Tara served up 4 aces with 10 points and Erin Skeie finished it up with 100% service accuracy.

Blue finished 2nd in the 1st pool play and moved on to the afternoon with their 1st match against Nike NW 12 Air Elite. With a long name like that, Blue thought Nike would be a tough match but Blue sent Nike away with a win 25-8. Nike could not return the power serves of Tara Zandi and Erin Skeie! Rikki Hall had an awesome save that surprised Nike @ the net. The 2nd match against Mt Hood VBC ended in a loss with some improved serve receive. Blue's last match of the afternoon was a loss against our own Cowlitz 12 Black 25-11, where our friends showed us some hard serving and good serve receive. Blues serving was consistent but our old friend serve receive gave us the loss.

Blue implemented their new 6-2 in the tournament and we couldn't be more proud. The defense was a little confusing at first but the girls pulled it out and got in the flow. Tara and Meagan H. got a little confused and thought we were playing soccer with both acing 2 headers giving Blue 2 points! The girls have already come a long way in just 2 tournaments. They implemented their new cheers and supported each other not only through the wins but the losses as well.

Thank you, Jenny, for all your help with scoring, and thank you to our cheering section, Susan Maki and Deanna Zandi. Thank you to all the parents for your support and encouragement!

Pre-Qualifier Tournament
January 8, 2006 @ Longview, WA

Cowlitz 12 Blue came together as a team and came together in team spirit during this competition. Most players are new to competitive volleyball, we feel good about our first tournament, and we are proud of the good start.

Scores were: Set 1 - 12-25, 15-25; Set 2 - 14-25, 9-25; Set 3 - 20-25, 25-20, ?-15; and set 4 - 15-25, 25-23, 13-15

Cowlitz 12 Blue had their ups and downs with Serving, Serve Receive, and Communication. Continued work and experience with these skill will result in Cowlitz 12 Blue becoming the team to beat!

Player highlights included fantastic defensive digs by Tara Zandi, and great all-around passing and serving by Tara Zandi, Rikki Hall, and Taylor Blanchard. Each member of Cowlitz 12 Blue made many positive contributions to today's tournament and they should each be proud of themselves.

Thank you to all the girls stepping up to fulfill our reffing duties & thanks to Jenny for your assistance with Scoring!