Pre-Regional Tournament
April 23, 2006 @ Longview, WA

Longview proved to be a tough lesson learned for the girls of Cowlitz 14 Blue. There wasn't as many teams as the last couple Longview tournaments, and with an outside hitter battling illness, and our Libero falling victim to early season softball, we were looking to switch up lineups and get some practice in before Regionals. While Blue started off strong against a few under-matched teams, they fell victim to the curse of the underdog, and fell to Cowlitz Red who were looking to avenge an earlier season loss to Blue 23-25, 23-25. Blue was serving strong all morning in two 3 of 5 game matches that they won easily, but couldn't keep it up against Anne and Karen's "scrappy-reds." Red should be commended for their play and for keeping the pressure on Blue, and hopefully this match will be a little fuel for both teams going into Regionals. Unfortunately, Reds seemed to use up all their juice against Blue, and fell to Evergreen, letting the LV T-shirts slip away from both teams. Oh well, all the more reason for both teams to look for some cotton prizes at Regionals. Good luck girls.

Vs Oregon Suns 25-3, 25-15, 25-11
Vs Evergreen 25-19, 25-9, 25-13
Vs Cowlitz Red 22-25, 19-25

Side Note: Tuesday was the last practice for Blues, who invited their parents for a chance to see that it really is as tough as it looks to play volleyball. After some high-spirited story telling, gigolo, rotation 5, serving, parent warm-ups, parent gigolo, parent kamikaze, and parent vs. players dead fish, the "Geezers" were ready to take on "High Maintenance" in a winner take all, 1 game to 25 scrimmage. And even with Abby and Erik coaching the geezers and helping with a few questionable calls and some creative scorekeeping, High Maintenance still managed to come out on top 25-21. Some impressive serving, blocking, and kills from both sides of the net, as well as a couple rallies that actually went back over the net more than 3 times, had everyone cheering and looking for more. So after a little boo-boo, we finally let everyone go and rest up for Regionals and a final rematch against PVC Green. 2-day Regionals, here we come!

Power League - April
SILVER DIVISION
April 8, 2006 @ The Courts - Beaverton, OR

Blue started off the day similar to last month, playing strong against some good teams, but unable to finish off teams when they had the chance. Blue took 4th in their pool after a couple close games and a couple bad cases of the shanks, but played some of their best ball of the year finally beating Alpine for the first time this year in the first match of bracket play. They went on to lose to Lakeside again for the final game of the day, but with that first win maintained their spot in Silver and are looking forward to Pre-Regionals in Longview and 2-day Regionals in Albany along with 14s Black. Also on the plate should be rematches against Nike, PVC, Lakeside, and Clackamas, and with those rematches, another chance to prove why they have been able to hold on to one of the top 16 spots in the 14s division and why these girls will be something special in Cowlitz County's high schools in the next couple years.

Silver Division Pool B and 4th - 8th Bracket
vs Rose City - 7-25, 25-23, 5-15
vs Roseburg - 20-25, 24-26
vs PVC Green - 19-25, 12-25
vs Alpine - 25-12, 25-23
vs Lakeside - 22-25

Katie and Kaitlyn started off the day with strong serving and some kills versus Rose City. Hailey, Alex, and Alysha came on with serving, setting, and defense against Roseburg. Danielle got a few of her first kills of the year from the back row against Roseburg and Alpine. Holly and Alex teamed up against PVC and Alpine for some big kills and tips. Ellie and the Courtneys (sounds like a band…) came up big time and again off the bench and when they were called on to start at defense and outside. Ellie also brought some much-needed excitement to the court and it was most appreciated. Alexis and Alysha continued to provide support at setter and outside. Alex, Alysha, and Danielle continued to earn the hustle award, selfishly saving the team from numerous sets of lines in practice. Meredith and Kaitlyn continued to find more and more rhythm outside, along with some help from Timmy, hitting line when Abby asked them to and pounding balls into the defense when we had them on their heels. And overall serving from Alex, Hailey, Ellie, Holly, Alysha, as well as Katie and Kaitlyn proved that Blue is ready for next weekend, and is looking forward to some exciting play in Albany at the end of the month. Also, we are looking for suggestions on a scary movie or two, because it seemed to work in Yakima, and the people at the Holiday Inn in Albany don't really want to sleep Friday night anyways. Why else would we book a room at a place where Cowlitz is getting ready to takeover? Maybe they are assuming Danielle and Abby will be crying instead of screaming, but I guess that depends on which movies get picked …

Camas Ohana Tournament
March 25, 2006 @ Skyridge Middle School - Camas, WA

The girls had a strong start on Saturday, but had a little trouble finishing off a Vancouver Lightning team that played their hearts out. Blue started off the day seeded 1st, which was a new position for the girls to be in. They took first in their pool, and seemed to have the tournament in their grasp, but a few mistakes late in the day dug them a hole they couldn't dig out of, even with a late rally. It also sent them home before they had a chance to prove themselves against what looked to be a tough Apollo team.

Vs. Evergreen Silver 25-21, 25-14
Vs. Clark County Jrs Silver 26-6*, 25-8
Vs. Camas Ohana Kekoa 25-17, 25-21

* (yes that's 26. While a few coaches in the region need the same reffing help that the Seattle region needs, some of their girls need another scorekeeping clinic, although it only happened in 5 games, so whose counting…)

Vs. Clark County Jrs Purple 25-14, 19-25, 15-6
Vs. Vancouver Lightning Black 25-18, 13-25, 9-15

Some more work on serve-receive and playing at our own level rather than below us will be needed on Tuesday, but overall it was a good day. The girls worked on some new positions and we should be ready to go for Power League next month. We are also prepared in case any future teams have a "grunter," and will no longer be surprised by that, even if she serves bullets at us. (Get ready for Erik serving at you on Tuesday, girls.)

Outstanding play that needs to be mentioned includes Kaitlyn getting on top of the ball for some monster hits (was it Mom in the crowd?). It includes Ellie and Alysha passing, especially Ellie digging a ball out of nowhere that kept us in the last match for another point. It includes Alex tying (I think?) Holly's serving record, as well as a couple streaks from Kaitlyn and Holly. And last but not least, hustle play of the year goes to Danielle, who won't let the fact there is a wall behind the court stop her for going for the ball on match point.

Baden Classic 15-U
March 19, 2006 @ Juanita High School

Pool F - Juanita High School - Mar 19th
vs. Northshore Black - 6-25, 23-25
vs. Sports for Youth - 25-17, 25-21
vs. Northwest Juniors Heat - 16-25, 18-25

Silver Division - Bracket Play, Single Elimination
vs. Narrows Purple - 16-25, 25-13, 15-6
vs. Peninsula Eagles - 25-18, 25-10
vs. Power Surge - 25-7, 25-9

Blue finished 3rd in their pool behind 2 teams that went on to tie for 3rd in the Gold Division. (Sometimes you get lucky in pool seeding, sometimes you get the tough pool.) They had to get over some morning jitters knowing that the girls on the other side of the net were a year older. And they stumbled a few times in a few first games. But overall they kept their cool and showed sportsmanship in the afternoon by being willing to change the line-up a little in some lopsided matches. It shows character to try new things as well as being able to not slip down to a lower level of play, and we will be expecting more of that in Camas. But Blue played good despite the fact that the Seattle area is in serious need of some reffing clinics and a new head tournament official (and some caffeine for the down-refs and line judges).

Great play by our outsides Kaitlyn, Meredith, Courtney Timmons, and Alysha was consistent all day (although how you get called for a double on a one handed tip is beyond me and Kaitlyn ... ) Setting from Alex was good for another long day, with help from Alexis, Courtney Timmons, and Alysha. Holly and Katie continue to produce results in the middle, even against a few 6 foot and over girls. Danielle continues to anchor the back row with Courtney Teeters, Hailey and Ellie, who all stepped up for hits and sets when called upon. Overall, a good tournament and finally a t-shirt for the girls, even if it was a 2005 outdoor tourney shirt ...

Thanks for another great weekend girls, and we'll see you Wednesday to work on serve-receive in preparation for Camas on Saturday.

Power League - March
SILVER DIVISION
March 11, 2006 @ The Courts - Beaverton, OR

It was a tough Power League for the girls this Saturday in Beaverton. 14 Blue battled back after their first 4th place pool finish of the year to win the crucial 1st afternoon bracket match to remain in Silver. The morning started off slow being the #3 seed, so after reffing way too early in the morning, Blue scrambled to an early 10-25, 15-25 loss to West Valley Black who was just down from Gold and will be moving back up next month. They then had to jump right into reffing again, and then into their final two matches of the morning. First was a re-match from last month's Power League with Lakeside, but again, Blue just wasn't on their game, and fell 14-25, 16-25. Missed passes, hits, and coverage really were unlike the girls, so when it came time for the 3rd match, they decided to wake up. Clackamas was up from Bronze, and fought hard against Cowlitz, and although the girls had the match in their grasp twice, they fell to 4th place in 3 games, 25-22, 21-25, and 14-16. This was one of the only matches this season that Blue has been on the losing end of a close 2nd and 3rd game, and it fired them up.

The afternoon started with Blue reffing (again) in preparation to face Canby who was up from Bronze and battling to stay in Silver. Blue let the first game slip 23-25, and looked to be succumbing to a focused Canby team, when they decided that it was time to play like they had all year. They came back to take the 2nd game 28-26, and finished off Canby 15-8 in an exciting finish. The last match was one game to 25 against Lakeside again, and although Blue started strong in the game, some mid-game lack of concentration let Lakeside back in and they finished us off 19-25. The girls were relieved to stay in Silver for a chance to travel with Black next month, as they finished top 2 in Bronze and will be in Beaverton with us next month. We saw some places we needed some improvement still, and will be looking forward to having Alesha back next weekend in Bellevue.

Some highlights that I can't go without mentioning would be Holly, Katie and Meredith all with stuff blocks at crucial points during the day. The crucial match included Kaitlyn's serving against Canby, and Meredith keeping us in the 2nd game against Canby by stuffing their setter's dump as well as serving the 27th and 28th game points. Also worth mention was serving against Clackamas from Alex, Katie, and Holly, followed by some textbook pass, set, kills from Danielle, Alex, and Katie and Holly in both these matches to show everyone that those first couple matches were flukes that won't be repeated. Also, some good sets from Timmy and Alexis were wonderful to be able to count on when Alex got pinned back passing. Blue should be proud of how they came back after a tough start to hold onto Silver, and are looking forward to Bellevue and Camas tournaments later this month. See you Tuesday girls.

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

Yakima was great, and if we didn't see some of you since we were across the street, sorry we missed you. 14 Blue had a great weekend capped by an 11th place finish in 14's Power Division, which is the best finish ever for Blue. Other highlights included crying to "The Notebook" (Danielle and Abby, you know who you are...) in the "Suite" at the Sun Country Inn, Danielle eating more pizza then Erik and Abby combined, being ranked 1st in our pool for the first time ever, taking first in our pool for the first time ever, and beating 14 Black for the first time ever in a tournament after they stomped us in the 2nd game. Pretty exciting, and we would have been top 8 if we could have just beat that stupid Nike...

Great play awards in the Saturday morning pool went to Katie (serving and hitting), Holly (serving and hitting), Danielle (passing, hustle, and some crazy digs), and Alex and Alysha (serving, setting, and hustle). Great play awards in the afternoon and Sunday morning pool included more of the same from Alex (back from her injury), Holly, Katie, and Danielle, along with some of the sets coming outside for Kaitlyn and Meredith who came up huge, as well as Hailey and Courtney Timmons coming into hit, serve, and pass. Alysha and Alexis provided the necessary hustle at setter and back-row late in the day, and Katie and Holly even managed to squeeze in a few stuff blocks with their help in the front row.

Power Division, Pool E - Riverside Christian - Feb 25th
vs. Columbia Jrs. Black 22-25, 25-18, 17-15 (finished 22nd) (CEVA bronze)
vs. Tri Cities Heat U-14 25-21, 15-25, 16-14 (finished 13th, 1st in Division 2)
vs. High Velocity Black 25-19, 25-13 (finished 31st)

Division 1, Pool DD - Selah Jr. High - Feb 25th, 26th
vs. PVC Green 15-25, 22-25 (finished 9th) (CEVA bronze)
vs. Cowlitz Black 25-22, 9-25, 15-9 (finished 14th) (CEVA bronze)
vs. Puget Sound 21-25, 25-11, 4-15 (finished 5th)

Division 1, Bracket 1-A & 1-C - Selah Jr. High - Feb 26th
vs. West Valley Black 14-25, 22-25 (finished 7th) (CEVA Silver)
vs. Nike Power 23-25 (oh the heartbreak), 16-25 (finished 10th) (CEVA bronze)

Those finishing results and CEVA rankings show you the kind of competition Blue was up against and is testament to how well the girls are playing as a team. Overall, the Blue team held their own with some of the best in the area and a few of the best from around the state, and were a few points and a couple missed serves away from finishing top 8. Great job, girls.

Also, congratulations to Black (14th), Red (15th), Gold (2nd in Challenge), and Purple (21st) who all had great weekends according to last night's coaches meeting. The 15th place finish was Red's highest ever, the Gold team just about won the Challenge division in their first year, Purple fought through a tough first day to tie for 21st, and Black played strong despite having both setters hurt, which shows amazing depth. Opponents in the next Power League better watch out, and 16's coaches better start recruiting early because you have about 34 quality players coming your way next year.

Power League - February
SILVER DIVISION
February 12, 2006 @ Albany Boys & Girls Club - Albany, OR

The girls and their coaches came into Sunday's Power League in Albany with one goal (okay, maybe two), and that was to remain in Silver. (And that second goal was to do this using a 5-1 since Katie was home sick and Alysha had to move from setting to middle.)  As it turns out, watching a scary movie the night before was just the good luck the girls needed. While "The Skeleton Key" may have scared the girls staying down in Albany on Saturday (yes, Abby screamed REAL LOUD right along with the girls), the only girls scared on Sunday were Blue's competition.

Blue started off slow in the morning, dropping the first match 13-25 and 19-25 to Lakeside. Blue had beaten them 26-24 in the PL qualifier last month, and this Sunday's Lakeside team showed Blue just how good they played in January. They also gave Blue the fire they needed, as they knew they now would have to beat Alpine and Nike, or win their afternoon match, in order to stay in Silver. Blue came out strong against Alpine, taking them to 24-26 in the first set, and then falling in the second set 18-25. Realizing how good they had played against 2 of the top 3 teams in Silver 2 months in a row got Blue excited and ready for their final morning match against Nike Force. Blue came out serving, passing, and hitting (yes, tips and dumps are hits Alex, Alysha, Holly, and Kaitlyn) Nike's lights out, taking them down in 2 sets, 25-20 and 25-15. This put Cowlitz Blue in 3rd place, and set them up against Webfoot Silver to decide who would stay in Silver and who would move down to Bronze.

The girls heard how last years' Blue team was always battling with Webfoot, and although they were a little tentative letting Foot come back and win the first set 20-25, they came to play in the next 2 sets, winning 25-12 and 15-12. This secured a Silver finish for Blue, and set them up for the 4th time this season against Nike Force for the 5th place match. The day had been going perfect, with great play against good teams, limited games up on the ref stand for the coaches, and only a little bit of unnecessary complaining from the Nike parents, but the pressure of beating Nike one more time and possibly avoiding practice over the upcoming long weekend was too much for the exhausted 14 year olds, and they let Nike come back from a 10 point deficit to beat them 25-27. It may turn out to be a blessing in disguise, as we probably will see Nike again in the afternoon playoffs next month, and if we keep improving as much as we did this month, it could be 1st or 3rd place.

Outstanding players on Sunday included Hailey, Kaitlyn, Alysha, and Holly behind the serving line (including a couple serving runs from Alysha and Kaitlyn, and triple Aces by Kaitlyn at 23, 24, 25 in the 2nd set against Webfoot). Defensive standouts were, of course, Danielle and Courtney as they continue to anchor the back row, and this week they were helped out by Hailey who's consistent passing and serving is a welcome addition to the regular rotation. Also, my scorekeeping is getting better, because I was able to track most of the long rallies that Blue put on this weekend, and I have every single girl down for great hustle and defense, so thanks to Kaitlyn, Meredith, Alexis, Alysha, Holly, and Ellie for getting most of their cover assignments down. It goes without saying that Alex and her energizer-bunny-like hustle at setter can be mentioned at any of theses positions, and her setting with help from Alexis, Alysha, and Kaitlyn (I think Hailey and Holly might have squeezed a few in, too) finally enabled our hitters to pound away on these other teams. Although Alex did set a new team record for dumps on Sunday, none of them would have worked if Holly, Kaitlyn, Meredith, and Alysha weren't keeping the back rows and liberos on their heels all day. Thanks again to all the girls for a great Sunday, and all the parents who continue to support the girls and their coaches. See you Wednesday (yes, no practice on Valentines day), have fun in Mexico Hailey, and get better soon Katie.

Athletes Corner Tournament
February 5, 2006 @ Longview, WA

14 Blue was fired up and ready to kick some butt this past Sunday, with hopes of beating a couple Nike teams, a few Portland teams, and 14 Black on their way to a Super Bowl party or two. The first match against Nike Power was much anticipated, as Blue had beaten this Nike team in last month's PL Qualifier. Blue gave it their all early in the morning, but unfortunately came up just short after not finishing off Nike in the first game, and lost 23-25, 25-15, 12-15. The highlight of this match was the 7 straight serves to finish off the second game by Alysha Berger, and the early morning hustle and defense of Courtney Teeters and Danielle. The second match pitted Blue against Rose City, one of the best teams in the region. Although Blue started off a little slow, they were able to come back and give Rose City a run for their money, dropping this match 7-25, 20-25. Standouts were the offense of Katie, Kaitlyn, Holly, and Alex. And this brings us to the match of the day, 14 Blue versus 14 Black.

14 Blue was looking to put out the fire in Black's belly, but after a long hard-fought match, Black prevailed. Blue made them really earn their 1st place finish this weekend though, dropping the match 20-25, 24-26. Both teams had fewer aces than normal due to tremendous defense by all the Cowlitz girls, and with the amount of rallies these teams played out for us to watch, this scorekeeper's pencil couldn't track all the setting, passing, and hitting on both sides of the net. Thanks to all the girls and parents for making this match an exciting one.

The girls finished out the afternoon against Mt. Hood and Nike Power, and these matches proved why Blue should be in the upper division with the Silver and Gold teams. First they took down Mt. Hood 25-19, 25-22 behind the serving of Courtney Teeters, Alex, Katie, and Holly. The amazing part about these last two matches was that a lot of the serves were not returned, and with very little missed serves and tons of aces, the girls proved they could contend with anyone out there. The second match continued the same, but this time against a Nike team that Blue had lost to last month in Power League. So with some offense from Meredith, Alexis, and Ellie, and defense from Hailey, Danielle, and Alysha, and another amazing serving run by Alysha (11 points for the win this time), Blue got their payback against Nike 25-19 and 25-17. Blue tied for 3rd and looks forward to taking on Nike, Lakeside, and Alpine again this weekend in Power League. See you in Albany.

Power League Qualifier
January 22, 2006 @ The Courts - Beaverton, OR

Blue started off a little sleepy in their first Power League of the year, but things only got better as the day went along. Their first match against West Valley Black was hard fought, but Blue lost 18-25 and 9-25. No matter where we put the ball down, the other team was there to dig it back up. Offense and serving from Kaitlyn, Alysha, and Alex, and defense from Courtney Teeters and Danielle stood out. The girls came back from this tough game to take on Nike Power. This match seemed to continue along the same lines as the first match, with Blue dropping the first set 15-25, but then the girls came alive. They won the next two sets 25-18 and 15-9, including a 12-point serving streak by Alex that Nike was unable to come back from in the second set. Additional offense from Katie and Holly, and more defense from Danielle and Alysha were more than Nike could handle. For some reason, its always feels good to beat Nike, and this win propelled us into another hard fought win over Bridgetown Navy, 25-20 and 25-21. A couple of serving streaks by Holly, offense from Meredith, Katie and Holly, setting from Alex and Alysha, and some great defense and hustle from Danielle and Hailey helped us finish off both these sets securing a spot in the Silver division for Cowlitz Blue next month.

The coaches' goal for this weekend was to at least stay in Bronze, so a Silver finish was a wonderful surprise, but even better than that was watching the girls begin to come together as a team. Less missed serves and passes than last tournament, and more talking and hustle were very noticeable, as were some positive attitudes when the girls saw that they could win together.

The afternoon seeding pool play for Silver division pitted us against 3 hard teams that we will see again in Power League next month. 3 sets to 25 finished off our day, after a looooong break (3rd seed morning and afternoon, Yuck), and the girls did their best to show that extra conditioning is starting to pay off. They dropped the first set 15-25 to a tough Alpine Falcons team, which was a close game until a 6-point serving streak by the other team finished us off. The second set against another Nike team, Nike Force, was again soooo close, but a couple streaks by Nike at the end had us wishing for one more game as we came up short 18-25. This game was especially hard because Ellie had got us into an early 9-2 lead with 7 straight serves. The last set came against a very tough Lakeside Blue team that we had already see hold their own against some tough Gold caliber teams. But they had just come off a tough loss to Alpine, and Blue saw their opportunity to tie for 5th in Silver.

The girls played their hearts out at the end of a long day, and while everyone on the sidelines were murmuring about the score of the Seahawks game, the girls grabbed their attention and held it 'til the end with a come from behind 26-24 victory capped by Courtney Teeters serving 7 straight points for the win, behind point 25 kill for Katie and the game winning kill from Kaitlyn. I'm getting excited for next week just remembering those last 2 points, and the 2nd half of the Seahawks game we watched was nothing compared to that finish. Other afternoon standouts included Alexis on setting and defense, Kaitlyn on serving and defense, and Danielle, who's cold was trying to get the best of her, with an amazing save to keep the ball alive for the set winner. The girls should be proud, and we are all looking forward to next month.

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

The first match of the day for 14 Blue was against Clark County Purple. Behind solid serving from Kaitlyn and Katie we took the first set 25-15. The girls had to battle a little in the second set because of some missed serves, but setting by Alysha and hitting by Kaitlyn and defense and hustle by Alex and Danielle secured the first match for Blue. The second match against Olympia Lanakila was a little tougher like we expected, and the girls dropped a hard first set 23-25 after great all-around defense in a game where every player had a successful pass. The second set of the match started where the first ended, and a few more missed serves forced us to drop the match in two, 17-25. Standouts against Olympia were Danielle serving and Courtney Teeters on defense.

The third match against Rose City Mizuno was the highlight for the girls in the eyes of the coaches. The scores, at 7-25 and 16-25, didn't reflect the intensity and hustle that the girls put forth, and they played great against one of the top 14-U teams in the region. Setting from Alexis, Alex, and Alysha, defense and hustle from all our setters and from Courtney Teeters, Holly, Hailey, and Ellie, and more passes than I could keep track of from Danielle brought some long rallies in both games. The offense started off slow because Rose City seemed to be everywhere, but really picked up in the second set behind the only kills in the match from Meredith, Hailey, and Alex. With play like this match, 14 Blue should be dominating the Bronze Division in Power League in 2 weeks.

The afternoon pitted Blue against their cross-town 7th grade rivals, Cowlitz 14 Red, and Red showed up to play, making Blue earn both set wins 25-23. Again, we showed the need for a little more work on covering and consistent serving, but this time, they showed the ability to finish when it counted. Standouts against Red were Courtney Timmons and Alysha on offense, and Holly, Danielle, and Kaitlyn on defense. With a win in the first match, it was off to the semis in the Challenge Division against PVC Green, and unfortunately the long day caught up with Blue. They dropped a heart breaker 25-27 after Katie served and passed us back into the match, but with two straight aces by Green at 26 and 27, the girls just didn't have enough left to comeback for the final set, dropping it 11-25, and finishing tied with Cowlitz 14 Gold for 3rd. Standouts included Alysha, Danielle, Katie, and Kaitlyn.

Overall, this was a good first tournament. We moved some positions and got a feel for the competition, and after a hard practice Tuesday night, full of fun drills like running laps, running lines, "full speed" rotation 5, Chinese torture, "seal," (and a few others that former 14 stars Mandy and Ashley helped put on), the coaches are really looking forward to our first Power League. See you in 2 weeks.