Regional Championships
BRONZE / DIAMOND DIVISION
April 20, 2008 @ Oregon State University - Corvallis, OR

It’s sad to see our Cowlitz Season come to a close, but what a fun tournament to end with. Playing in the Oregon State TRUAX Fieldhouse, we were able to watch and support other Cowlitz teams, and see other familiar teams we’ve competed against since January. We were also exposed to new teams we had not seen at tourneys yet. The weather was weird too … sunny, snowy, hail, of course rain. No one could predict.

The 16’s Blue were predictable … we started off slow … the same pattern all year. Our first match always stinks … then as the day progresses our momentum increases, and the caliber of our play.

We played two N. Clackamas teams and the Bearcats in pool play, taking second. Struggling in pool play is what we do. The crossover match is where we shine. We defeated scrappy Yamhill & OJVCA teams, to reach the championship match. We met PVC White … again … one of many encounters with the talented team. The girls had been playing since 9:00 am, with a little over an hour break. The girls were tired. The coaches were exhausted. The championship game wasn’t completed until before 8:00 pm. We just ran out of steam … we played well … PVC played better.

The girls have played in many championship matches the past few months. What a great ending to a fabulous season. They made it to the Bronze Championship again, placing 18th overall in the 16's Division. Fantastic! They represented Cowlitz well.

April 20 Regional Tourney, OSU, Player Summary: ( 9th Tournament)

1. Hannah Johnson: awesome hitting, blocking, net play, setting, finding holes

2. Kylie Moses: served tough, great power tips, setting, defense, hitting

3. Myriah Dombrowsky: hustle, serving, setting, several assists, defense

4. Shauna Salopek: blocking wall, angled hitting, attacking overfeeds, yippee!

5. Louisa Hanson: started the day strong, then became ill … hope you’re feeling better!

6. Tiffany Wend: strong serving, super defense, smart hitting, hard attacks

7. Kaitlyn Moses: wonderful defense, robbed of a pancake, hurt her knee … ouch!

8. Miranda Wilson: many touches at middle, smart chip shots, great serving!

9. Chelsea Rinard: serving & defensive machine, attacked the ball, blocking

10. Maggi Aschoff: blocking maniac, hit overfeeds like crazy, attacked and hit everything!

11. Brandi Malakoff: fabulous passing, right to target, digs, great court sense!

12. Jill Isaacson: scrambled & sacrificed the bod for balls, diving, perseverance .

Pre-Regional Tournament
April 14, 2008 @ Lower Columbia College - Longview, WA

It was nice being close to home for play. What a crazy beginning. Coach Johnson was recruiting line judges, and was splattered w/ Hot Cocoa. This is why you don’t have food and drinks in gyms. Anyway, she was a sticky mess throughout the day.

Like usual the girls had a slow start. We played inconsistent in the morning. As they warm-up our consistency grows. Our competition was pretty weak throughout the day until we met 2 tough Edmond’s teams. We played the first Edmond’s team in pool play.

The best match of the day was Cowlitz Blue against Edmonds Elite in the semi-finals. Now this was great volleyball from both sides of the net. Both teams were digging up saves, killing the ball, blocking, chipping …You name it. Everything that makes volleyball so fun to watch was happening on the court at LCC.

Unfortunately, the Edmonds Elite had some big hitters that came through. Cowlitz Blue came up short, but not without a fight. We were defeated 25-23, 25-22, 14-16. It was one of our finest performances of the season.

April 14 Pre-Regional, LCC, Player Summary: ( 8th Tournament)

1. Hannah Johnson: 20 kills, 8 block touches, 2 block kills, 24 assists, 81% serving, 3 aces

2. Kylie Moses: 16 kills, 81% serving, 9 aces, 1 block kill, 3 block touches, 24 assists

3. Myriah Dombrowsky: 91% serving, 9 aces, best serving of the year, 21 setting assists

4. Shauna Salopek: 4 block touches, 6 kills, aggressiveness, great transition off the net

5. Louisa Hanson: 7 kills, great hitting and block coverage, scrappy defense

6. Tiffany Wend: 7 kills, 90% serving, 4 aces, spectacular defense, great communication

7. Kaitlyn Moses: 8 kills, not bad for only playing ½ day, 1 block kill, 78% serving, 2 aces

8. Miranda Wilson: 100% serving … Fantastic! Great serving day! 4 kills, 2 block touches.

9. Chelsea Rinard: 10 kills, 81% serving, 6 aces, one of her best tournaments of season.

10. Maggi Aschoff: 7 serving aces, 5 block touches, 4 block kills, great net play, one of her best.

11. Brandi Malakoff: 91% serving, 4 aces, great tag-team defense with Jill, our dynamic-duo

12. Jill Isaacson: great floor leadership, worked beautifully with Brandi, what a partnership.

Power League - April
BRONZE DIVISION
April 5 - 6, 2008 @ Central Catholic HS - Portland, OR

The Cowlitz 16’s Blues continued to impress and won their Power League division. We hadn’t practiced for over a week due to vacations and Spring Break. We thought either we’d come to the tourney and be totally off or totally on fire. It was a little bit of both. The girls were pumped and totally excited to win Bronze and take home CEVA backpacks. They’ll do anything for a prize.

We played tough competition. We defeated Webfoot from Eugene, a tall, talented Mt. Hood, Rose City, No Dinx, and stumbled through a loss to Athena Asics. We played poorly in that match, then dominated from then on. As the day progressed our team improved & played strong!

These girls continue to amaze. We’re small but scrappy. Defense is our strength. We have a strong backcourt that always helps set up our offense. Several girls made amazing saves and showed heart. Our setters are smart, quick, and athletic and made amazing sets and placed the ball in the hands of our hitters. Our serving was awesome. We had several girls with aces and strings of points.

What is so fun about this team is watching them talk. When we communicate we play wonderfully. When we don’t talk we struggle. We had wonderful team talk Saturday. The flow was with us. Every player contributed to the success of the day. We watched other teams get angry with each other … our girls encouraged and celebrated their teammates. What a great team!

April 5 Power League, Central Catholic HS, Player Summary: ( 7th Tournament)

1. Hannah Johnson: 21 kills, .32% efficiency, spectacular setting, 23 assists, 83% serving! Yahoo!

2. Kylie Moses: 27 assists, celebrated w/ her hitters, 96% serving, 4 aces, 72% passing, 2 block kills

3. Myriah Dombrowsky: 94% serving, 1 ace, 7 assists, on-target setting, smart, scrappy defense.

4. Shauna Salopek: 10 kills, 5 block kills, 22 block touches, aggressiveness, improved spike coverage!

5. Louisa Hanson: 7 kills, 94% serving, super hit coverage, awesome cross court hit …YOWZA!

6. Tiffany Wend: 5 kills, 94% serving, 4 aces, loud talking, great defensive coverage, stayed low!

7. Kaitlyn Moses: 12 kills, tricky roll shot, perfectly executed, 87% serving, 11 aces … Wow! Defense!

8. Miranda Wilson: 1 block touch, 2 kills, one was her hardest hit of the season … what a beauty!

9. Chelsea Rinard: 6 kills, aggressive defense, wonderful spike coverage, great Mexico tan!

10. Maggi Aschoff: 1 kill, 83% serving, 1 ace … blocked a setter’s dump. YIPPEE! Loved her braids!

11. Brandi Malakoff: 70% passing, adjusted defense and read the block, way to be a leader.

12. Jill Isaacson: 95% serving, 4 aces, using her right & left-handed roll like a pro, w/ confidence! !

Northwest Juniors Jamboree
CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION
March 15-16, 2008 @ Yakima, WA

Cowlitz 16’s Win T-Shirts at Yakima Jamboree

The 16’s Blues placed 17th overall at the Yakima Jamboree. We were grateful & humbled to have placed that high after our performance on Saturday. “El Stinko!” The girls played awful. They knew it … the coach’s knew it … the parent’s knew it. Nothing clicked. Every aspect of our game was off. Painful! Actually, it was comical! There was no way out of the abyss. Cowlitz could have easily dominated our pool on any other day but this. We couldn’t wait to leave the gym and go get some Coldstone. YUM!

The girls rested, relaxed, showered, and text messaged on their downtime as they anticipated “Saturday Night Unplugged,” their team-bonding get–together. What a fun night … after having such a bad day on the court … they regrouped, joked, laughed, ate, wrestled, and shared their silly side. Man, can our team play a mean “Apples to Apples” game. It’s a true testament to a team of girls who can play so horribly on the court but yet still smile and support each other off the court. Our girls are wonderful!

Sunday was a different story all together! We were unstoppable. Everything was on fire … on-target passing, tough serves, amazing defense, okay blocking, dominating hitting … hard cross-court, down-the-line, chips in the middle … setting adjusted for each hitter’s strength. The team bonding helped! We did not lose a match and only one game. In our pool play in the morning we played 3 / 5 matches. It was fun to have that flexibility to get everyone substantial playing time.

The girls struggled from adversity Saturday to the finals of our bracket Sunday. The all-important question at any tournament was asked, “Will we win T-shirts?” Yep, t-shirts were on the line … I felt sorry for our opponent … it was all downhill for them. We released the animal from within ourselves …The shirts would be ours at all costs. We won!

It was a great way to end. We struggled so much Saturday, stayed positive and ended at the top of our game. Not bad! Girls, we are proud of you! May I add we looked fabulous in our “Spirit Bandanas!” We were the talk of every gym!

March 15 & 16 Yakima Jamboree Player Summary: (Sixth Tournament)

1. Hannah Johnson: fabulous coughing & sniffling, opponents couldn’t handle her jump serves!

2. Kylie Moses: great tourney, blocking maniac, textbook setter’s “dump”, fooled everyone in gym!

3. Myriah Dombrowsky: cheering & voice, jump setting, digging the ball out of the net!

4. Shauna Salopek: hit hard, kept blocking arms up, passing, improved blocking footwork!

5. Louisa Hanson: multi-tasker, softball then v-ball, great right-front setting for assists, super defense!

6. Tiffany Wend: hit a ball so hard it ricocheted off a girl, took an elbow to the nose & kept playing!

7. Kaitlyn Moses: strong serving, pancake defense, fantastic outside attacks, hit hard, strong & smart!

8. Miranda Wilson: on fire with her passing, several block touches, clutch serves, always strings pts.!

9. Chelsea Rinard: pulled stomach muscle Sunday, hitting maniac Sat., un-stoppable defense! Wow!

10. Maggi Aschoff: hit the ball hard consistently, kept eye on ball, great transitions, much improved!

11. Brandi Malakoff: strong serving … breathtaking passing & digging right to target … Impressive!

12. Jill Isaacson: MM Mint Valley Tourney Doubles champ … then our go to libero-defender / passer! We saw Jill rolling to the left & rolling to the right! You go girl!

Power League - March
BRONZE DIVISION
March 1, 2008 @ The Courts - Beaverton, OR

Cowlitz 16’s Blue Stay in Bronze at March Power League

In like a lion out like a lamb…great comparison of our move from the “Diamond Division” to “Bronze.” We moved up to perfect competition for our skill level. This is where we belonged. The girls won their pool but struggled with their afternoon crossover & seeding matches. We played tough in the morning but played inconsistently all throughout the afternoon. The steam was let out of our sails. It was a long day. Despite a disappointing loss to Club Heritage we moved up to 20th place overall in the 16’s division. Not bad for our girls.

March 1st Power League Player Summary: (Fifth Tournament)

1. Hannah Johnson: awesome assists, jump setting, jump serving, blocks, blocks, & blocks

2. Kylie Moses: attacked the ball, great defense, serving, blocking, she did everything!

3. Myriah Dombrowsky: choice setting, right to target, serving, and defense!

4. Shauna Salopek: strong kills, net movement, free ball adjustments, way to improve!

5. Louisa Hanson: smart hitting, found all the opponent’s holes on the court, serve received great!

6. Tiffany Wend: great defense, hitting strong & reaching high, used the block to hit ball out … Smart!

7. Kaitlyn Moses: awesome defense, great chip shots, good defensive coverage, her serve was back!

8. Miranda Wilson: fantastic serve receive, passed balls right to target, tough serves for points!

9. Chelsea Rinard: hit hard down the line, cross-court, served well, good defensive coverage

10. Maggi Aschoff: block touches, moving to the block had improved, kept hand high above net.

11. Brandi Malakoff: reading the hitter and adjusting her defense … she’s a professional.

12. Jill Isaacson: great passing … starting to do defensive rolls in games … w/ confidence! YIPPEE! !

Pro Image Invite
February 24, 2008 @ Monticello MS - Longview, WA

Cowlitz 16’s Blue Perform Well at Pro-Image

For the first time in a month we had all 12 players participating in the tournament. No one was injured, ill, or out of town. It was a challenge for the coaching staff trying to mix up the line-ups to get everyone playing time. The girls adjusted and adapted like pros to different hitters, setters, defenders, and subs, without skipping a beat.

The Pro-Image had great competition. We played talented and tall teams from the Puget Sound area, as well as those from Oregon … Northwest Juniors and Rose City, familiar names in local volleyball circles. The Blues did fantastic. We split with a powerful Puget Sound. We were scrappy … Hustled … Cheered … you name it. Our girls were complimented on how much fun we were to watch from spectators. We did that throughout the entire tournament. We gave each team a run for their money. The final scores of all our games were close … 25-20 … 25-23 … etc.

The girls showed great maturity and skill, especially when their goofy coach messed up the line-up. We had to be creative throughout an entire match with a “strange” line-up. Watching the girls problem solve how to make it work was exciting and fun. ( Even though the coach was embarrassed.) This group of girls know the game. They are true “VARSITY” team players. They encouraged, adjusted, adapted, with grace & stamina. The girls have a wonderful camaraderie with one another you notice on the court.

Feb. 24 Pro Image Invite Tourney Player Summary: (Fifth Tournament)

1. Hannah Johnson: out of nowhere blocks and great job as a middle for one game. Sorry!

2. Kylie Moses: Kill of the day … straight down … that one was for Grandpa!

3. Myriah Dombrowsky: variety sets, jumped set, back set … fantastic defense … dug everything

4. Shauna Salopek: hit the ball at the angles … served hard at the opponent … hit hard. GRR!

5. Louisa Hanson: came to play … stud top-spin serves … smart attacks … great defense & passing

6. Tiffany Wend: amazing serves … the other teams couldn’t pass … won a string of pts. every time.

7. Kaitlyn Moses: tough serving, great defense … I think she had a pancake … not the food , the dig

8. Miranda Wilson: great serving, serve receive, and net play … always in the right place at right time.

9. Chelsea Rinard: what a hitter … jumped high … great wrist snap …wanted to serve all day long

10. Maggi Aschoff: great talking … more and more block touches … her serving has arrived

11. Brandi Malakoff: served well, serve receive was near perfect … made some amazing saves

12. Jill Isaacson: our libero once again, passed well, played aggressive, hit from back row. Yahoo!

President's Day Tournament
February 16 - 17, 2008 @ The Courts - Beaverton, OR

Cowlitz 16’s Blue Participate in First Annual President’s Day Tournament.

Just when we thought we’d have our entire roster playing for the first time in over a month, illness attacked our squad. Four girls were down for the count. The flu wreaked havoc. We played Sunday with only 8 players. Everybody stepped up and played their hearts out. The girls had lots of playing time. Many performed well beyond the call of duty, stepping up their level of play. Girls who had trouble serving earlier in the season, didn’t miss. Our blocking improved 100%. What was exciting is that we won several games without our full roster. It shows the character & depth of this year’s 16’s Blues.

Feb. 16-17 President’s Day Tourney Player Summary: (Fourth Tournament)

1. Hannah Johnson: steady all-around play, consistent jump serving, aggressive offense

2. Kylie Moses: Illness kept her down Sunday. Monday returned to full play. What an athlete!

3. Myriah Dombrowsky: scrappy defense, awesome floater serves, smart setting

4. Shauna Salopek: loved the improved blocking footwork. Stretched legs and blocked outside.

5. Louisa Hanson: first tourney back in action. Smart defense & offense. Knee did okay!

6. Tiffany Wend: Ill-stayed home in her nice comfy bed, coughing , sleeping, & sneezing

7. Kaitlyn Moses: Ill-stayed home with little sister and slept. Returned Monday w/ a vengeance.

8. Miranda Wilson: All excited, got to play outside. Smiled all day long. Smooth & steady.

9. Chelsea Rinard: Great all around play, offense, defense, coverage, serving … she was red hot.

10. Maggi Aschoff: best tourney of the year, blocking, kills, serving …Chipotle Player of the Day!

11. Brandi Malakoff: libero girl, dug, rolled, dived, she was everywhere on the court. Fun to watch!

12. Jill Isaacson: Home sick with fever. Jill got to sleep in too. No fair! We missed you tool!

Power League - February
DIAMOND DIVISION
February 3, 2008 @ Mt Hood CC - Gresham, OR

We won! We won! We won! What an effort! We were the victors of the Diamond Division. It was a great day for our team. We are meshing together. The girls are gaining confidence with their play.

Our offensive attack was on fire. Throughout the day our setters could rely on any of our hitters to put it down or find a hole on the opponent’s court. It was exciting to see smart play. Our middles attacked overfeeds …straight down. Our right sides hit strong angles. Our lefts hit line and tipped to all the right places. Our opponents scrambled all day long. It was the best hitting tourney yet … great consistency with minimal errors.

Serving was phenomenal. We started off slow, but once we warmed up there was no stopping us. We served hard and at specific targets. The other teams had great difficulty setting up their offense because they couldn’t receive our serves. Several girls throughout the day had consistent serves and we were down in points and they brought us ahead to victory. It was wonderful to see the team persevere.

Our serve receive was excellent. We had some lapses. But we communicated with one another and made adjustments as needed. Girls were on the floor and moving their feet to the ball on defense. Wonderful scrappy play!

The competition included the N. Clackamas Premier, Fire VBC, Columbia Jrs., and the Cowlitz Asics. The girls were excited because we won our matches in 2 games. No one took us to 3. They were dominant winning their pool and the final 2 matches of the day to win the division, quite the confidence builder.

The girls were awarded “Black Championship Scarves” for winning Diamond. The girls were excited to win a treat! Pretty cool! It was a fun way to end a near perfect day with such spectacular performances.

Our next tourney is at The Courts, President’s Day weekend. Next Power League we move up to the next competitive level … Bronze Division. Looking forward to it.

Feb. 3 Power League Player Summary: (Third Tournament)

1. Hannah Johnson: on target setting, terrific hitting, stuff blocked more than once … nice passing

2. Kylie Moses: returned after injury, awesome hitting, serving, blocking, setting … What a day!

3. Myriah Dombrowsky: serving machine, improved serve receive, positive court energy

4. Shauna Salopek: the animal was released within, dominated the attack at the net. Yahoo!

5. Louisa Hanson: sidelined w/ a knee injury … can’t wait to have her on the court next tourney.

6. Tiffany Wend: Serving stud … brought us back from behind more than once … fantastic defense

7. Kaitlyn Moses: smart hitting, found holes everywhere, incredible digs, serving & passing

8. Miranda Wilson: Serving machine … served , served, & served … her serves were unpassable

9. Chelsea Rinard: sky rocket attack … hit hard … hit quick … jumped … great left-front defense

10. Maggi Aschoff: #1 Kill of the day ... perfect wrist snap, straight down, other coach complimented

11. Brandi Malakoff: MIA - at home - hugging the great porcelain god …had the flu … missed you!

12. Jill Isaacson: maniac serve-receiver, passed over 104 balls, with 85% accuracy … need I say more.

Power League Qualifier
January 27, 2008 @ Mt Solo Middle School - Longview, WA

Well done! Our best performance yet!

Baby, it was cold outside! Players traveled through snow and ice to participate in the Awards-N-More tournament at Mt. Solo Middle School. One team couldn’t make it. There was shuffling and re-arranging and non-stop volleyball.

It was a fun round-robin tournament. We played against Team Nike, Apollo, Momentum, and our own Cowlitz 16 Asics. The Blues started net play after 8:00 that morning and continued until almost 1:00 without a break, no food ... a granola bar here and there. It was a wonderful opportunity to test our physical condition and endurance, readying us for our next Power League. The girls met the challenge. We looked terrific.

Missing 2 key players, Kylie & Louisa, to knee injuries, we adjusted player positions, roles, and offense without practicing ... signs of true athletes with knowledge of the game, but more importantly being team players. The girls were willing to play in unfamiliar territory and played like veterans. Our girls have true team spirit!

We defeated Team Momentum and Team Apollo each, easily in 2 games. The Blues played Nike NW the third match. Man, what a game. We played our hearts out … great defense, offense, setting, and serving. Nike was hitting bullets over the net. We dug everything. Everything was in-sync. We started to lose steam the 3rd game. We went down to defeat. Our final match was against the Cowlitz Asics. It went down to the wire as well … the Blues lost in the final game 12-15. It was a great test for us what we need to do to win. How we need to push ourselves when we’re tired. We lost our pep. They played well most of the day.

Summarizing the tourney, we looked gorgeous in our new blue warm-up jersey’s and uniform tops. Our blocking improved 100%. Our defense was superb. The setting was right on. Our middle attack was in operation! Not bad for an icy cold Sunday.

We look forward to having a healthy 12-man team Sunday, February 3, as we travel to Mt. Hood Community College for our next Power League. Keep your fingers crossed.

Awards-N-More Player Summary: (Third Tournament)

1. Hannah Johnson: 14 kills, great serving, 6 block kills, great setting assists, super-serve-receive

2. Kylie Moses: out for the day, hyper-extended knee, kept serving stats, iced her knee. Big fun!

3. Myriah Dombrowsky: fantastic serving, 98%, 10 aces, an all-around great day

4. Shauna Salopek: 21 kills, .300 hitting percentage, 10 block touches, 2 block kills

5. Louisa Hanson: sidelined with a knee injury, snowed in up at Morton. We missed her!

6. Tiffany Wend: 7 kills, great digs, 5 service aces, 1 block touch, 10 perfect passes on serve receive

7. Kaitlyn Moses: 8 kills, 4 aces, great serve receive, 15 perfect passes, and defensive digs

8. Miranda Wilson: 1 block kill, 2 block touches, 96% serving, 4 aces, 4 kills

9. Chelsea Rinard: 8 kills, 3 assists, just call her Chelsea, the setter, she was awesome at right front

10. Maggi Aschoff: 4 block touches, 5 kills, much more aggressive at the net, keep it up Maggi!

11. Brandi Malakoff: 94% serving, 2 aces, 13 perfect passes, rolled for down-the-line balls

12. Jill Isaacson: libero for tourney, 14 perfect passes, great floor movement diving for balls .

Power League Qualifier
January 13, 2008 @ The Courts - Beaverton, OR

Way to go! What improvement!

The Cowlitz 16 Blue team traveled to Beaverton, at “The Courts”, for their first Power League tournament. Comparing our team to the 3 other teams in our pool, we were “The Little Engine that Could” going up against the “Goliaths”, and the “Jolly Green Giants.” The Salem Blacks and Columbia Juniors were huge … tall and talented. We held our own and persevered against some tough competition. Both teams were impressive with their attack and blocking ability. They towered over our tiny block. If our girls grow 6 inches by the end of the season we can dominate over these teams. Seriously, with more practice with our defense and our net play we could give them a run for their money. We just haven’t quite found a consistent groove when playing tough teams. Just a lot of inconsistencies with serving, slow blocking, and communication with one another during our court play. We don’t have the height but have other strong areas of the game. Our serve receive, defense, and serving started out slow but later was fantastic.

We played N. Clackamas our last game of pool play. They were more at our body height, more ‘even-steven.’ We took it to them. Our middle attack, improved blocking, and smart hitting by the outsides helped us to our first victory of the day. We then took on PVC Teal for the Crossover Match. They are beatable but for some reason we always come up short against them, losing the match in three (close game scores too.) So close. We played tough. There’s something about playing a PVC team, go figure.

Our final game against “The Fire” from Vancouver was not pretty. We started off crazy … the first game of the match was just one of those games where nothing went our way. It was actually quite comical looking back at it a few days later. But at the time it was frustrating, and quite embarrassing to watch. Especially when you know what your player’s skill levels are and they’re not playing at their potential. But with some adjustments we pulled it off and came together to win the match in 3 games. Thank goodness.

Looking back at our day at The Courts, we played so much better than our first tourney. We still haven’t found the “perfect” line-up for the team. We’re trying to find the position that “fits” each girl, and shows their best attribute for our team. Once it’s clear to who’s going to play where, we’ll gel more as a team. Each player’s willingness to play any position we ask shows true team spirit. We still have a lot of work ahead of us but it’s happening one step at a time. Thanks girls!

Power League Player Summary: (Second Tournament)

1. Hannah Johnson: 17 kills, hitting efficiency .39 (impressive), 4 blocks, 24 assists, 81% serving

2. Kylie Moses: 90% serving, 4 aces, 36 assists, WOW!, 3 blocks … way to go setter!

3. Myriah Dombrowsky: quick defense, 7 assists, 88% serving, all-around hustle, 1 block touch

4. Shauna Salopek: 6 blocks, 19 kills, last game of day had a string of 8 service points in a row

5. Louisa Hanson: sidelined with a knee injury, but man … does she take a mean service stat!

6. Tiffany Wend: 9 kills, great tips, 1 block, 83% serving, 3 aces, smart hitting

7. Kaitlyn Moses: 18 kills, 91% serving, 6 aces, great serve receive, and defensive coverage

8. Miranda Wilson: 5 blocks, great serve receive and left back defense, strong attack last game

9. Chelsea Rinard: aggressive outside attack, hit hard/strong down the line, 2 blocks, 83% serving

10. Maggi Aschoff: 8 block touches and 2 stuff blocks, much improved middle attack, 5 serves in

11. Brandi Malakoff: played strong libero majority of the tourney, 74% serve receive, tough defense

12. Jill Isaacson: 94% strong serving, 4 aces, 75% serve receive, dove to the ball, kept balls in play.

Pre-Qualifier Tournament
January 6, 2008 @ Lower Columbia College - Longview, WA

"ON YOUR MARK, SET, PLAY ---“The First Tourney”

January is a month of “firsts.” The first weekend of 2008 was also the first weekend of play for this year’s Cowlitz 16’s Blue team. What a wonderful group of athletes. It was our first time playing as a team. It was the first “16’s” tourney for some. It was the first club volleyball tourney for others. It was the first time some girls played new positions. It was the first time we wore these uniforms. It was the first time some girls wore ½ socks. It was the first time we had all 12 girls in an organized rotation. It was the first time some people reffed, did lines, or kept the book. It was the first time Coach Johnson coached with a separated shoulder. (Oh Brother!) It was the first time boyfriends of players were watching in the stands. Wow! It was our first tournament.

Now, we know our strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. Preparing for the day, we knew it could be rough. The Blues had a relaxing Winter Break with limited practice. The girls practiced once a few days before the tourney. We planned on being creative with the line-ups, practicing basic skills, giving everyone playing time, and getting to know our teammates on/off the court. This tournament was also helpful in getting out the “nervousness” that accompanies any “first” you may experience. It also allowed the girls to “bond” and learn about one another as players on the court and as teenagers off the court, sitting around talking and eating. They remained upbeat and supportive throughout the day, keeping a “positive team spirit.”

We played strong at times, average at times, and weak at times. Inconsistent would describe our play. That’s expected with any first tournament at any level. We showed great potential in all areas- especially our defensive plays. We definitely have room for improvement ... but the more we practice and play together we’ll see the great potential for the 2008 Cowlitz 16’s Blue Team. The first is over …Tourney #2- Power League … here we come. We’re ready to tear up THE COURTS, in Beaverton, Sunday, Jan. 13.

LCC Tournament Player Summary: (First Tournament)

1. Hannah Johnson: 85% serving, 3 aces, great blocking, setting, hitting, & jump serving

2. Kylie Moses: 97% serving, 5 aces, 72% passing, good defense, great tips, & dumps

3. Myriah Dombrowsky: 80% serving, 1 ace, energetic play, hustles on the court

4. Shauna Salopek: 88% serving, blocking, and surviving her first tournament

5. Louisa Hanson: 100% serving, 80% free ball passing, always new where to be

6. Tiffany Wend: 90% serving, 5 aces, great net play and pancake defense

7. Kaitlyn Moses: 1 ace, quick feet defense, 74% free-ball accuracy, jump serving

8. Miranda Wilson: 90% serving, great left-back defense, 78% serve receive passes

9. Chelsea Rinard: strong left-side attack, down the line hitting, great block coverage

10. Maggi Aschoff: strong middle-back defense, blocking

11. Brandi Malakoff: 90% serving, jumped serve, beautiful serve receive, textbook passing form

12. Jill Isaacson: 100% serving, loud talk, good defensive coverage, eyeing the ball .