The 18's blue played extremely well the weekend of April 7th. The girls started the day off with a defeat from Canby. We did not play well that match, but we recovered our game against PVC Purple. It was an awesome match to watch. Everyone was transitioning, covering, and helping each other out. It was truly a team effort. As a matter of fact, we were PVC's only loss on the day. We then faced our nemesis team West Valley Juniors. We demolished them in the first game, but relaxed too much in the second to prevent a third game. We were down 7-14 in the third game, and Jessica Sigler's consistent serves (along with tremendous team play) brought us up to 14-14!! It was incredible. Unfortunately we lost the match 16-14, but the girls learned that a comeback in rally scoring is possible, and there is always a chance.

In bracket we had to play West Valley Juniors in the first round, and we lost to them in three. The girls are determined to seek revenge at Regionals! We then played Rogue Valley 17's, and because it was going to be an automatic forfeit, we played 2 out of 3 to 15. We struggled early, but soon found our game, and won the match.

With only 7 girls, fatigue definitely plays a role in our overall success. However, the girls work their tails off the entire time, and I am very proud of them. Standouts were: Jen Davis, Katie Spears - blocking & smart tipping, Angie Donner, Jaclyn Bland - setting & dumping, Breanna Jenkins, Jessica Sigler - hitting, defense & awesome serving, Amanda Gonser - serve receive passing and defense. The entire team played some of the best defense that I have seen all year. Regionals are this weekend; unfortunately they have not determined where, but if you are in the area, please come and support these athletes. They are a fun team to watch.

Cowlitz blues had another strong tournament. Saturday's play was up and down. The Blues couldn't seem to find their groove. They kept working hard regardless, and in the final pool play match on Saturday morning, they were playing more cohesive. Their afternoon match with WVBA was fun to watch. The girls were transitioning quickly, and had strong net play. But a number of missed serves in each game cost us the match.

Sunday morning we faced a tough Cowlitz Asics. We fought hard, and had some great defensive plays. I didn't care about the score, because we played so awesome, and we gave them a real challenge. It was a fun match to watch, but I have to say the match vs. PVC was the best for the day. The blue team was functioning like a well-tuned machine. They stayed focused and impressed everyone in the gym. Bracket play did not treat us well. We had a slow start in the first match. You could see the fatigue on the girl's faces. Hits were going out long (lack of reach and arm speed) and the passes were getting sloppy (no movement and standing up). With only eight athlete's, everyone is forced to play all day whether you are struggling or not. I am proud of the work ethic this team shows. The scores are not reflective of our play, and I have high expectations for our April power league.

Standouts: (the entire team!) Jen Davis, blocking/serving, Jessica Sigler/Amanda Gonser, defense, Breanna Jenkins/CJ Davies/Katie Spears, offense, and Angie Donner/Jaclyn Bland, setting.

These athletes are constantly proving themselves as competitors each time they step on the court. We played with confidence and finesse. The girls are really implementing strategy to their game, and it is bringing great results.

Standouts for the weekend were: Jen Davis and Breanna Jenkins, serving, C.J. Davies, all-around, and Amanda Gonser defense.

Cowlitz blues had a strong tournament. They played as a team on Saturday and were successful all day. The best match was against Spokane Sky, the number one seed. The girls were fired up, and won an exciting three game match.

Sunday's pool play action was a bit more challenging. They started out with a decisive win over Atlantic from New Jersey. They faced a tough Yakima squad, and despite some outstanding efforts, the Blue's were defeated in two. The girls remained focused however, and soundly beat Mt. Hood VBC to hold their seed in the pool.

We faced a tough, but beatable Nike Force in the first round of Gold Division bracket play. We fought hard the first game, but unfortunately too many mental mistakes, like missed serves got the best of us. We rebounded strong from the loss and crushed Nike the second game. Somehow, we could not keep our momentum and Nike ended up taking the third game to win the match.

 Standouts for the weekend were Jaclyn Bland, setting, Jessica Sigler, defense, Breanna Jenkins, offense, Angie Donner, serving, and Jen Davis, blocking.