|
The
Volleyball Festival
June 24
- July 1,
2001 @ Sacramento, CA
Pre-Festival
Tournament
June 17,
2001 @ Longview, WA
|
| W |
Cascade
Excel |
25-9,
25-6 |
| W |
Rose
City Black |
Not
Available |
| W |
Cowlitz
16 Black |
25-19,
25-17 |
| W |
Greater
Columbia Blue |
25-9,
25-15 |
| W |
Cowlitz
Alumni |
25-19,
25-17 |
| W |
Rose
City Ohana |
14-25,
25-18, 15-10 |
Pool
Finish = 1st
OVERALL
FINISH = 1st
Notes
and Quotes:
Cowlitz
ASICS team captures the
Pro-Image/Pre-Festival title and
prepares to hit the road to Davis!
In a high-energy, high-intensity match,
ASICS managed a hard-fought 14-25,
25-18, 15-10 victory over CEVA Regional
champion Rose City Ohana (Central
Catholic) at the Monticello Middle
School gym on Sunday. In April's
Regional Tournament, two losses were
handed to Cowlitz ASICS by Rose City, so
there was no lacking desire as the two
teams met for the 9th time this season
(Rose City holds a 5-4 edge in the
season series).
The first game was nip-and-tuck until
point 15 where Ohana pulled away on
several passing miscues by
Cowlitz. It was similarly close in
game two until Cowlitz managed a two
point edge at 15-13 on the strength of
some defensive adjustments in our
blocking scheme, and improved defense
behind the block. With Tara
Andrews setting an outstanding game two,
and as a result of some thunderous kills
from Tiffany Thorkildson and Stephanie
Storedahl, ASICS pulled away for a 25-18
game two score.
Game three was incredibly intense, with
serving streaks from Lauren Anicker and
Katie Sorensen and backed up by sterling
offense from Brooke Clark and Melissa
Rowe to provide the winning
combination. Abby Pond withstood
attack after attack in both serve
receive and defense, and would not fold
under the relentless pressure.
Jessica Bunn dug several critical spikes
from their top hitter, and the
celebration was on.
In early morning pool play, Amanda Lee
and Katie Sorensen led the offensive
barrage over Cascade Excel 25-9,
25-6. Rose City Black (our only
other defeat at Regionals) gave us a
workout but could not keep pace with our
transition game.
In wins over Cowlitz 16 Black (25-19,
25-17) and Greater Columbia Blue (25-19,
25-15) it was much the same story.
The ASICS ball control and transition
game were too much to handle.
In a fun match to watch, ASICS defeated
an alumni team of Cowlitz players 25-19,
25-17. |
|
|
Auburn-Riverside
Tournament
June 10,
2001 @ Auburn-Riverside HS - Auburn, WA
|
| W |
Space
Needle Crush |
25-7,
25-6, 25-13 |
| W |
NW
Juniors Cyclones |
25-5,
25-7, 25-10 |
Pool
Finish = 1st
BRACKET |
| W |
Northwest
Thunder |
25-10,
25-13 |
| W |
South
End Juniors |
25-15,
25-12 |
| L |
Kent
Juniors Black |
22-25,
21-25 |
Bracket
Finish = 2nd
OVERALL
FINISH = 2nd
Notes
and Quotes:
JUNIORS
PLUS ONE
Minus five seniors involved in
graduation activities and bolstered by
lone senior Katie Waliezer (who
graduates from LaCenter this week), the
Juniors of Cowlitz ASICS finished second
in the 9 team Northwest Juniors
Tournament.
A victim of a scheduling quirk (the team
had to play 3 matches in a row in
bracket play, proceeded by officiating a
first round playoff match), the team was
on their feet for 4 straight
hours. This was significant in
that we only had six players.
Cowlitz won four straight matches before
falling to Kent Juniors 22-25, 21-25 in
the final.
In the opening pool play, the team
dominated opponents with an entirely new
lineup. The first victim was the
Space Needle Crush team, 25-7, 25-6,
25-13. In this match, Brooke Clark
dominated play at the net as she would
all day long, smashing kill after kill
over the outgunned team from Seattle.
Next up was Northwest Juniors Cyclones
from Tukwila. It was another
dominating performance, as Stephanie
Storedahl joined in the attack with her
blocking and front row play.
Scores were 25-5, 25-7, 25-10.
In the first round of bracket play, the
ASICS team defeated Northwest Thunder
25-10, 25-13. Having spent the
morning familiarizing themselves with
their new roles, the entire team clicked
into overdrive. Katie Waliezer and
Katie Sorensen were much more
comfortable at the net which added to
our attack. They were both
instrumental all day in great back-row
contributions.
We immediately followed with a
semi-final match-up with the South End
Juniors of Puget Sound, and after a
shaky start, dominated 25-15,
25-12. With a comfortable front
line, and great passing, setter Tara
Andrews had a field day. She kept
the opponents off-balance all day by
locating sets to the hot hitters, and
following it with great back row
defense.
Stepping into the final against the Kent
Juniors, you could see the fatigue
beginning to set in, but we fought
valiantly. Amanda Lee had a career
day, at one time stuff blocking 3
straight sets. Her enthusiasm for
the game, and her dominating net
performance, spurred us to an early
lead. We eventually lost our edge
as Kent Juniors played inspired defense,
and we managed to miss on six
serves. In game two, a valiant
effort was not enough to put us over the
top. I was impressed with all who
participated. With the exception
of Tara, all other players were in
unfamiliar roles. A break or two
might have swung the match in our favor. |
|
|
Emerald
City Classic
May
19-20, 2001 @ Seattle, WA
|
| W |
WVBA
17's |
25-16,
25-16 |
| W |
Cascade
Excel |
25-14,
25-14 |
| W |
High
Altitude - Alberta, CA |
26-24,
25-12 |
| Pool
I Finish = 1st |
|
| POOL
: II |
| W |
Columbia
Juniors |
25-20,
25-11 |
| W |
Vancouver
Icepicks |
25-17,
25-22 |
| L |
Puget
Sound 18's |
20-25,
21-25 |
| Pool
II Finish = 2nd |
|
| BRACKET |
| W |
Puget
Sound 16's |
25-22,
27-25 |
| W |
WVBA
17's |
25-23,
22-25, 15-13 |
| L |
Nike
NW Jrs Air Elite |
18-25,
8-25 |
| Bracket Finish = 2nd |
|
| OVERALL
FINISH = 2nd |
|
Notes
and Quotes:
It was a great weekend for the Cowlitz
ASICS team as they took the runner-up
spot in the 32-team Emerald City Classic
Volleyball Tournament at Hec Edmundson
Pavilion on the campus of the University
of Washington. It was the 14th
annual edition of the tournament of
which the ASICS team is a charter
member.
The team posted a 7-2 record, running a
5 match win streak in the process over
the course of Saturday and Sunday
morning's competitions. Leading
the way offensively for the ASICS team
was Lauren Anicker (49% kills), followed
by Tiffany Thorkildson (44%), Brooke
Clark (42%) and Melissa Rowe
(38%). Tara Andrews did an
outstanding job of distributing the ball
and keeping all of our hitters involved.
Defensively, we had some incredible
efforts from Abby Pond, whose passing
was superb as well. Katie Waliezer
filled in for Katie Sorensen (of Kelso
softball fame) on Saturday, and for
Thorkildson on Sunday. Jessica
Bunn, defending behind Andrews, took
some amazing hits throughout the
weekend. The team displayed grit
and determination, reaching the final of
this tournament for the first time in
six years.
Amanda Lee played valuable support roles
on Sunday, and played great minutes on
Saturday as we worked through the upper
gym circuit minus the air
conditioning. Stephanie Storedahl
had key blocks, particularly against
Puget Sound 16's, and scored the final
two points on two incredible plays with
the score tied at 25. |
|
|
Regional
Tournament
April
21-22, 2001 @ The HOOP - Vancouver, WA
Power
League - April
April 7, 2001 @
Bend, OR
|
| L |
Nike
North Emerald City |
14-25,
16-25 |
| L |
PVC
Black |
23-25,
25-23, 7-15 |
| W |
Webfoot
Juniors 17's |
23-25,
25-22, 15-11 |
AM
Session Finish = 3rd
PM SESSION |
| W |
High
Desert |
22-25,
25-23, 15-11 |
| W |
Webfoot
Juniors 17's |
(Forfeit) |
PM
Session Finish = 5th
OVERALL
FINISH = 5th in Gold Division
Notes
and Quotes:
The Cowlitz Asics team placed 5th in the
gold division of the power league on
Saturday at the Deschutes County
Fairgrounds in Redmond, Oregon. Seeded
fifth going in, and third in their
morning pool, Asics started slowly in a
loss to Emerald City North
(Eugene/Portland), by scores of 14-25,
and 16-25. Offense was the problem;
Brooke Clark led all hitters with three
kills.
Up next was the top seeded Portland
Volleyball Club Black team. Cowlitz
played much better, and let one slip
away, as several questionable
officiating calls led to a 23-25 first
game loss. Game two was just as hotly
contested with Asics coming out on top
25-23. The third game experienced a 7
minute delay aver a lineup error on
Cowlitz's part; shortly thereafter the
team came out on the short end of a 7-15
score.
The final game of the first pool was a
match vs. the Webfoot juniors 17's team
out of Eugene. This was our first
encounter with this high energy/tall
team, and spurred on by tenacious
defensive efforts by Abby Pond, Tara
Andrew, and Jessica Bunn, and the
offensive punch of Brooke Clark, and
Tiffany Thorkildson the team earned a
hard fought 23-25, 25-22, 15-11 victory.
The team had committed themselves to
going undefeated the remainder of the
day, and we were off to a good start.
Bracket play brought the team face to
face with our biggest rival of this year
in the form of the High Desert team, who
was basically playing on it's home turf.
We have beaten them three other times
this year, but all three matches have
been extremely hotly contested, and went
the maximum three games. Today would be
no different. Cowlitz struggled mightily
in the early going, missing spike after
spike. The defense held up, as did the
passing for the most part. Tara Andrews
worked mightily but at the end of the
second timeout Asics found itself down
11-20. "Amanda Lee was inserted
into the lineup, and promptly served us
back into the match with five aggressive
serves, and the defense to match".
After tying the game at 21-all, Cowlitz
was unable to finish the job and fell
22-25 in game one. Game two was more of
the same intensity, but the difference
was the return of the Cowlitz offense.
Melissa Rowe connected with Tara on two
thunderous kills, our defense dug tips,
and the bench and on-court players
really got into the match.
Game two to Cowlitz 25-23, they do not
get much closer. Game three found Asics
bolting to an 8-6 lead at the
changeover, which soon turned to a 9-11
disadvantage. A final timeout, followed
by great defensive efforts from Katie
Sorensen, and Katie Waliezer, and a
thunder kill from Stephanie Storedahl
put us over the top. Game, set, match to
Cowlitz 15-11!!
Up next was a rematch with the Webfoot
team for 5th place. It involved waiting
for an hour for the next available
court, which was apparently too long for
Webfoot to wait. Their coach was in a
hurry to get to Longview of all places
since he was going to be coaching a 14's
team on Sunday!!! Concerned about the
length of the drive, they were unwilling
to wait, and forfeited, unbelievably.
What stood out for me on the day was the
intensity and close competition between
all the gold division teams. Stephanie
had an opportunity to play in her
natural position as a middle blocker
during the middle of the day, and made
some key touches and kills for us. Tara
struggled with the offense early, but
made up for it with great defense, and
when the offense connected, it was
pretty to watch. Jessica Bunn led the
charge with her serving skills, and our
libero, Abby Pond thrilled all in
attendance.
Up next for the Cowlitz Asic's team is
the regional tournament, April 21, 22 at
the Vancouver Hoop. Cowlitz will enter
the regional tournament seeded fourth
out of the forty eight teams in the
region.
|
|
|
Power
League - March
March
11, 2001 @ Longview, WA
|
| L |
Nike
North Emerald City |
17-25,
20-25 |
| L |
Hapa
VBC |
24-26,
17-25 |
| W |
High
Desert |
26-24,
25-18 |
| L |
Nike
North Emerald City |
13-15 |
AM
Session Finish = 4th
PM SESSION |
| W |
Nike
NW Jrs Power |
21-25,
25-14, 15-11 |
| W |
Rose
City Ohana |
8-15,
15-10, 15-6 |
PM
Session Finish = 5th
OVERALL
FINISH = 5th in Gold Division
Notes
and Quotes:
Cowlitz Asics Maintains 5th Place
Regional Position
The Cowlitz Asics Volleyball Team
managed to maintain their 5th place
position in the region on Sunday at the
Columbia Empire Region Power League
Tournament held at Lower Columbia
Community College in Longview. After a
disappointing morning of inconsistent
play and losses to Nike North Emerald
City 17-25, 20-25, and HAPA VBC 24-26,
25-17, the team responded with an
exciting 26-24, 25-18 win over High
Desert from Bend, Oregon. Morning
efforts by all teams resulted in a
three-way tie for second place in the
pool creating the need for single game
tiebreakers. First up was Cowlitz Asics
against High Desert for third place with
the winner playing Nike North Emerald
City for second. Asics suffered a
disappointing 15-13 loss in the
tiebreaker and placed fourth at the
completion of pool play.
Nike Northwest Juniors Power was the
first opponent for Asics in the
afternoon bracket. Excellent defense
from Katie Waliezer, La Center, and
Katie Sorenson, Kelso ignited the spark
that Asics needed to secure the 21-25,
25-14, 15-11 win over Power solidifying
a place in the Gold Division. Next in
line for Asics was Rose City Ohana.
Again backed by solid defensive efforts
from Katie Waliezer, setting of Tara
Andrews, Rainier, and offensive prowess
of Brooke Clark, Kelso and Melissa Rowe,
Mark Morris, the Cowlitz Asics defeated
Rose City 8-15, 15-10, 15-6 and
maintained their 5th place ranking in
the Columbia Empire Region.
After four straight weekends of
tournaments, Cowlitz Asics will get a
much deserved rest with their next
endeavor being defending their 5th place
regional placement at the April 7th
Columbia Empire Region Power League
scheduled for play at the Deschutes
County Fairgrounds in Redmond, Oregon.
See you there!!!
|
|
|
Northwest
Juniors Jamboree
March
3-4, 2001 @ Yakima, WA
|
| W |
NW
Storm |
25-22,
25-20 |
| W |
Camas
Ohana |
25-17,
25-17 |
| W |
Greater
Columbia |
25-12,
25-17 |
Pool 1 Finish = 1st
POOL
: 2 |
| W |
Emerald
City Robin |
25-18,
25-12 |
| W |
PVC
Purple |
25-7,
25-10 |
| W |
Nike
NW Power |
25-27,
25-21, 15-8 |
Pool
2 Finish = 1st
BRACKET
: POWER - DIVISION 1 |
| W |
High
Desert |
23-25,
25-19, 15-8 |
| L |
Hapa
Gold |
25-21,
16-25, 14-16 |
Power
Division 1
Bracket Finish = 3rd
OVERALL
FINISH = 3rd
Notes
and Quotes: |
|
|
ASICS Invite
February
25, 2001 @ Longview, WA
Las
Vegas Desert Classic
February
17-19, 2001 @ Las Vegas, NV
|
| W |
Provo
Playerz |
25-14,
20-25, 15-8 |
| L |
Boulder |
25-17,
15-25, (?) |
| W |
North
County |
25-19,
25-22 |
| Saturday
Pool Finish = 1st |
|
| POOL
: SUNDAY |
| W |
Club
Idaho |
25-9,
25-13 |
| L |
Las
Vegas Wahines |
19-25,
25-15, 13-15 |
| L |
Sports
Shack |
18-25,
8-25 |
| Sunday
Pool Finish = NA |
|
| *
NOTE: Monday results not
available. |
|
| OVERALL
FINISH = NA |
|
Notes
and Quotes:
News from the Las Vegas Desert Classic:
To
see it, just click an article below:
Cowlitz
ASICS Places 1st in AM Pool Play
ASICS
Goes 1-2 in Sunday Pool Play
|
|
|
Power
League - February
February
3, 2001 @ The HOOP, Vancouver, WA
|
| L |
Rose
City Ohana |
23-25,
25-14, 12-15 |
| L |
Team
Hapa |
18-25,
19-25 |
| L |
Nike
NW Jrs Air Elite |
15-25,
16-25 |
| W |
Webfoot
Gold |
25-15,
27-25 |
| W |
Rose
City Ohana |
15-10,
15-12 |
|
| OVERALL
FINISH = 5th in Gold Division |
|
Notes
and Quotes:
The Cowlitz ASICS team finished 5th at
the February Power League held on
Saturday, February 3, 2001 at the
Vancouver HOOP.
Seeded 4th entering the tournament, the
morning session was particularly rough
on the team. First up was the Rose
City Ohana team from Portland, OR who
defeated ASICS 23-25, 25-14,
12-15. It was a combination of
unforced errors (15) that spelled
disaster in the closely contested
match. Next up was Team Hapa from
Olympia, WA who was the 8th ranked team
in the Gold Division at the beginning of
the day, and ended up 1st after the
day's competition. Game scores
were 18-25, 19-25. It was more of
the same for Cowlitz, with a lack of
killer instinct stopping the squad from
it's first win of the day. Next up
was the top seeded Nike Air Elite team
from Gresham, OR. It was not a
pretty game as ASICS fell 15-25, 16-25
and was barely competitive.
The format allowed for one more
opportunity to stay in the Gold
Division, and after a three hour wait to
play, the Cowlitz ASICS team played with
renewed vigor, swamping the Webfoot Gold
team from Eugene, OR 25-15 and
27-25. Trailing 24-20 in the
second game, the killer instinct
returned as the kids fought back to win
in overtime.
After another break, Cowlitz was
presented with a return match with Rose
City Ohana, who had defeated Cowlitz
twice already in the young season.
In an abbreviated format, the Cowlitz
team made it clear that the third time
was the charm as they soundly defeated
the Rose City squad 15-10, 15-12.
The tournament marked the return of
Stephanie Storedahl who has been
rehabilitating a nagging shoulder
injury, and Katie Waliezer who was hit
harder than most by the 2001 version of
the flu/bronchitis. It was a
successful return for both.
Amanda Lee was cited by Coach Bill
Marshall for some major contributions
off of the bench that earned her
additional court time in the late goings
of the tournament, where she contributed
several kills, service aces and timely
defense.
Next up for the Cowlitz ASICS team will
be the Las Vegas Desert Classic over
President's Day Weekend, where 300 teams
from throughout the country will compete
for the coveted trophy. |
|
|
J
& J Custom Awards Classic
January
28, 2001 @ Longview, WA
|
| W |
Hannula's
Angels |
25-12,
25-5 |
| W |
Greater
Columbia Blue |
25-23,
25-13 |
| W |
Cascade
Excel |
25-14,
25-17 |
| Pool
Finish = 1st |
|
| BRACKET
: CHAMPIONSHIP |
| W |
Mt
Hood Black |
25-12,
25-10 |
| W |
Nike
Air Elite (16) |
25-20,
25-22 |
| W |
High
Desert Black |
25-21,
16-25, 15-11 |
| Bracket
Finish = 1st |
|
| OVERALL
FINISH = 1st |
|
Notes
and Quotes:
The Cowlitz ASICS team captured the 13th
Annual J & J Custom Awards Classic
18 and Under Tournament with a
hard-fought 25-21, 16-25, 15-11 victory
over the High Desert Volleyball Club of
Bend, Oregon. Bill Marshall
singled out Jessica Bunn, from Prairie
High School, who led the team with her
digging and senior leadership skills
throughout the day, particularly in the
finals, when the team was drifting
without direction. The 15-team
tournament was played at Lower Columbia
College and Mark Morris High
School. The win signifies the
first win for Cowlitz ASICS in their own
tournament in the past four years.
Two-time defending tournament champion
Rose City of Portland was seeded first
going in, and was upset in the
semi-finals by High Desert of Bend who
entered the tournament seeded fourth.
The offensive load for Cowlitz ASICS was
carried all day by Lauren Anicker
(Kelso), Katie Sorensen (Kelso), Melissa
Rowe (Mark Morris), and Tiffany
Thorkildson (Prairie), who were the
beneficiaries of a fine setting effort
by Tara Andrews (Rainier). Passing
well all day were Abby Pond (Vernonia),
Jessica Bunn, and Katie Waliezer (LaCenter).
Brooke Clarke (Kelso) should also be
mentioned for her steadying influence at
the right side where she established a
strong blocking presence, and had a
career day offensively. |
|
|
Fiesta
Classic
January
13-15, 2001 @ Arizona State University
|
| W |
High
Altitude |
25-22,
25-19 |
| L |
Yavapi |
25-15,
23-25, 11-15 |
| W |
Team
Tribe |
25-15,
25-21 |
| Saturday
Pool Finish = 2nd |
|
| |
