I am not going to talk about each of the matches as the description of each would be nearly the same….all-out efforts by each of the kids….mixing a great combination of aggression, intensity and fun into each of the games we played. Never quitting and playing to the end….they all left everything on the floor, as I think they finally reached the top of their game. Yeah, we could have beaten a couple more teams, but it wasn't due to anything other than physical errors, as the mental errors were all but eliminated.

Each of the girls significantly contributed all weekend, with phenomenal play and effort. Here are only a few comments about them, and I keep it brief only because I could write a chapter about each of them and how proud I am of their performance.

Shyanna Davis and Kendall Morris consistently set well, working extremely hard to keep an aggressive assault on the net possible. They saw the court well and moved the sets around to keep the defense on its heels. Even when the occasional bad pass came, they pushed themselves to get to the pass and "better the ball." They both controlled our offense very well.

Jenna Hatch and Whitney Luchau were on all weekend, mixing up their aggressive attacks with some well-placed tips. They adjusted on the occasional "less than perfect" set and put the ball where it needed to go. Jenna was also huge at the net with her blocking efforts. Whitney's short serving abilities came into play at critical times with several long strings.

Allison Lee and Cassandra Woods found themselves up (or really down) against some very tall middles all weekend. They consistently stuffed and scored against some D-1 players who made a lot of other taller middles look bad. The efforts by both of these girls epitomized what aggressive net play means. Allison also had several long strings of well placed serves to help keep the opponents on their heels.

Our defense, goodness gracious our defense!!! Truly, our defense carried us all weekend. Every player mentioned above can also get the kudos for the defense. But, without the efforts of Stephanie Weishaar, Laura Jensen and Kynsi Stout, we never could have pulled this off. They were all over the court, playing with reckless abandon for their bodies. They have to be bruised all over as they constantly were on the ground for the entire weekend, attempting to get every ball up.

I now will tell you of my pick for the MVP of the tournament. There is only one logical pick and that is the entire team! Without each and every one of their efforts none of this would be possible. I also once again want to thank all the parents who came to Albany for the weekend and cheered and supported the team. You are more important than you realize as each of your kids love to have you there. Thanks for a great season.

Ladies, thank you for your efforts. This is the one thing that keeps me in the coaching business. Watching you play your hearts out and achieve what I have always known you were capable of achieving. I want you all to reflect on this past weekend and think about how we have grown into the team we have become. You have overcome some tumultuous distracters and worked hard to accept each other for who they are. Only through acceptance and tolerance have we become the force this team is today. Enjoy the time off and come back ready to take it even farther in our preparations for Reno.

Mike

Our morning pool was one to remember...we played well at times and poorly at times....there were lots of new lineups on the floor, and needless to say, it affected our play. What it didn't affect was the team's hustle and aggressive defensive posture. We are constantly oversized at the net, but the girl's heart and desire easily make up for the vertical disadvantage. We could have won all of our matches, but there were some issues (we have addressed them and will re-emphasize at practice) that arose that afternoon.

The afternoon bracket play was very good. We stepped onto the court and played very well against a team that started in Gold and has slowly slid downhill. We helped them in their quest to slide out of the top 16 by beating them in a very good match. The team played very well, keeping an offensive assault throughout the match. The defense was incredible, nothing hit the floor without bodies flying after the ball. I was very impressed and proud of the way the team turned their focus to the mission. This ends our trip through the Power League system, with only Regionals remaining. For the second time in a row, the Blue team has qualified for the two day Regionals by finishing in the top 16. I look forward to the two day tourney at the end of the month.

We stepped onto the court against a giant of a team, Nevada Jrs., maybe the tallest team we had seen all year. We played well, taking the first game from them. We eventually lost the match, but not due to any lack of effort. The team played well, and showed what great defense they had, as the Nevada team tried to use their height throughout the match. It should be noted Nevada ended up 2nd in this tournament, with us handing them one of the very few losses they had all weekend.

The next match put us up against Diamondback VC's number 2 team. They stepped onto the court with a bit of an attitude as they didn't seem to take our vertically challenged team too seriously (another tall team). After it was all said and done, they left with their heads hung down and a third place pool finish, compliments of Cowlitz Blue.

We ended up the first day with a quick victory over the only weak opponent of the weekend, Black Hills VC. We got up early and maintained a moderate momentum to finish 2-1 on the day and take 2nd in the pool.

In order to place in the top 12 in the tournament, a team had to finish 1st or 2nd to move up, as there was no way to work your way back from the next level down. Blue accomplished the team's goal and moved on to play only the top teams.

The 2nd day of pool play found us against 3 very good teams:  Diamondback's 1st team, Nike Air Elite (tournament winner) and Arizona Foothills VC. Although we did not win any matches, the girls did not fold. They played hard all day and gave each team a hard fought match. Andrea and I were very proud of the effort they gave throughout the day, as each of the teams we played were extremely good.

The third day found us playing in a single elimination bracket competition for a maximum of 7th place. Not too bad for a team seeded 18th coming in. We stepped onto the court and played a fantastic match against Club Red. After splitting the first two games, we found ourselves down 6-11 in the third game to 15. The team found the character they have shown all year long, and never folded. They pulled off one more of their long list of fantastic finishes. It was a great win and they deserved it with the level of play throughout the match. I would rank the win as the most complete match to date. They were no abysses to climb out of as they kept the momentum most of the match.

The final match for the Blue was against North Phoenix 17-1. Blue put on another fantastic effort but fell just short in the match. If ever there were such thing as a "good loss", I would characterize this as the definition. 110% left on the floor and nothing to look back on and be disappointed about. The team played their hearts out and I am very proud of the way they performed.

I will not comment on individual performances this weekend, as every girl played to their potential. They all showed what they can accomplish when they work as a team. Thank you all, ladies, for your efforts. The team came into the tournament ranked 18th overall and finished 9th, a quantum leap over many good teams.

Special thanks to Mary Weishaar for being our team dietitian this weekend. We were the envy of the tourney as we ate like royalty.

See ya next time, Mike and Andrea

Day one's mission was to survive. We had girls playing positions they were not used to playing. Jenna Hatch moved to the middle, Kendall Morris moved to the outside and Laura Jensen moved to the right side. They all played very well, working hard all day.

We played hard all day, but just could not muster enough wins to move into the top half of the next pool. Still, with 52 teams in the tournament, playing for 17th was still very respectable, especially counting up the missing bodies.

After the reseeding, we played our first round of the second pool on Saturday. We played a Mt. Hood team which we had beaten in the February Power League. They took advantage of our shorthanded staff and beat us in a spirited 3 game match. The second game was a marathon event, going to 33-31. Unfortunately we were unable to continue our effort and fell short.

Sunday found us back at East Valley HS against Hapa. We started out very slow and fell behind early. The Hapa team played very well and eventually took a 19-6 lead. After a time out and some motivational words, the girls responded and found their "A" game. The defense became relentless and the offense began an assault that sparked the biggest comeback I have seen in rally scoring. We won 25-23, and then carried it over to the next game and took advantage of a very dejected Hapa team.

With the other teams in the pool doing their jobs, we found ourselves in a position to still take 1st in the pool. A win against WVBA red would give us first outright, and we could avoid any mathematical formula for tie breaking. The good news was that Cassandra Woods showed up to solidify our front line. WVBA put up a good fight and after splitting the first two games, we put it all together and quickly took the third game to win the pool.

On to bracket play. The first match was against Mid-Columbia. We knew nothing about them except where they were from. The team started fast and never let up, taking a strong offense and a defense that never let up onto the court. That win moved us into the semi-final against PVC Purple.

This match was a seesaw event that saw both sides playing very well. The lead and momentum changed constantly. Every girl on the court played her heart out, but in the end we were unable to pull out the win. Two, two point losses tells of how close the match was.

The following kudos to the girls: Kendall Morris, for the major switch from setter to outside hitter and left back. Kendall did a phenomenal job in an unfamiliar position. Jenna Hatch, for playing hurt and converting to middle for the first day. She played hard and was inspirational to the team. Laura Jensen, she stepped into the right side and played great. She worked hard all weekend and made many great saves at key moments. Shyanna Davis, for running a 5/1 offense very effectively. Shy made Herculean efforts to get to every ball and had countless kills with her effective dumps and pushes to the corners. Allison Lee, for her middle play all weekend. She had numerous blocks and kills at opportune times. Whitney Luchau, for her smart overall play. She painted the line all weekend with her attacks and provided many service aces for the team. Cassandra Woods, for driving up to Yakima very early on Sunday to put her best effort on the court. Cassandra solidified our front line and played big at critical times. Last, but surely not least is our incredible libero, Stephanie Weishaar. I never stop being amazed at how hard she works and how she throws her body around with reckless abandon after every ball. Her passing skills are up there with the best. Congratulations to all of the girls for their performances this weekend.

Thanks to the parents who continue to show their support for the team. That is so huge to the success of a group of teenagers. The girls seem to work harder when they have a fan base, and this team truly does have a good group of parents.

The last word here, the girls did a very good job at working through some extreme adversity this weekend. They made adjustments and played very well. Some of them were disappointed at their showing, but that is the sign of a true winner, one that wants more every time. Keep up that attitude, and focus on your part, and this team will continue to improve.

Mike

Morning pool play (the first two matches) found us playing teams which only required half speed to win, so despite all the encouragement I could muster, that was the effort given. There were a few glimpses of very good volleyball, but the girls had a hard time maintaining their focus against the first two teams.

The third match of the day was against a co-Silver team, Nike Impact. We had not played them since the friendship mini-tourney at the beginning of the season. We came out hot and stayed that way until late in the second game, and once we lost the momentum, we could not pull out the second game, splitting with the Nike squad. Even with the split, we finished first in our pool and moved on to the afternoon championship bracket.

Our first match against Albany was similar to the first two morning matches. The team played well enough to win. The team will eventually learn to prepare for the next match by putting away the lesser opponents.

Unfortunately, that slow momentum carried over to the afternoon encounter with the Nike Impact squad again, and we dropped the first game, not playing well at all.

Drastic times call for drastic measures. As hard as some were playing, their physical ailments prevented them from being as effective as normal. We have played a 6/2 most of the year, but we needed to get a fresh arm on the outside, so Kendall Morris was drafted to become an outside hitter. "I've never played left back on defense" was the response. She played very well, getting kills in the front and digs in the back. Shyanna Davis played her heart out, getting to seemingly unplayable balls and getting them to the hitters. The middle hitters picked up their blocking and hitting, and Cassandra Woods and Allison Lee significantly contributed to the assault. Whitney Luchau painted the line continuously with her attacks and mixed in an effective tip now and then. The defensive team of Libero Stephanie Weishaar, Kynsi Stout and Laura Jensen passed extremely well, getting to most every ball.

The result was the best point count of the season, winning 25-7. Only allowing 7 points to a Silver team was indicative of how well I think this team can perform once it realizes it themselves. We continued to play well in the third game, but ultimately lost 13-15 in a tight game.

The team was upset after the loss, which is part of what Andrea and I are looking for. To be mad about a loss shows heart, and heart cannot be taught, just brought out. The team is starting to get to its potential. The only key ingredient missing is consistency....simply maintaining a high level despite what is on the other side....

Bottom line is that the ladies stepped up when they had to, and even with injuries to many, showed what they are capable of accomplishing....energy on defense makes up everything, and that's exactly what showed up Sunday afternoon...I want the team to pack that for Yakima.

Day one found us against some very good teams. We played very well in our opener but fell just short. All the girls and I felt we could have won that match and stepped up the play against the Puget Sound team. They are a very good team and ranked high in the region. We took them to three, but just couldn't quite pull off the win. The ladies played well. We won our third game in a miraculous comeback. After losing the first game, we found ourselves down 19-24 in the second. The girls went into hyper drive and pulled the game out by scoring 7 straight points. Then they continued by burying the other side 15-5 in the third. Moved up a notch from fourth to third...could have been second had we played that well in the first match.

We came out somewhat flat on the second day and dropped the first match to a solid team from Sacramento. The girls were disappointed and angry at themselves and took it out on the other team, allowing them only 8 points (three were on missed jump serves by us.) We finished them off and then beat a very good Hawaiian team in three, creating a three way tie as the Hawaiian team had beaten Sacramento. After a complicated mathematical formula was completed, we finished 2nd in the pool by a fraction of a point.

The third day found us matched against a good athletic team from Florida. They seemed to find every hole in our defense when the time was critical. I believe a bit of fatigue had set in and the ladies just could not manage one final comeback (the referee didn't help by blowing a line call late, but that is only one out of 25 points). We ended our tournament with a loss, but I feel we had some very good defining moments on the court.

Now the rest of the story. The ladies were totally in awe of the lights and glitz in Vegas. They had the opportunity to walk the strip (day and night) and see the town. We may have tried to do too much, which probably contributed to the fatigue factor, but for some of the girls, it was the first time in the big city. We learned a lot about ourselves and what the sacrifices are to make a team better. I am happy to have been able to take the team to Vegas, as it is the first time in a long while the Blue team has traveled out of the region. We got exposure to many teams from all over the United States, and found we match up pretty well. I am once again proud of the performance and we will continue to work on the road to gold.

See ya next time

Mike

We started out the morning with a shorthanded team and a 5/1 instead of the familiar 6/2 offensive system. Shyanna Davis did an incredible job stepping up to the plate all day, as she ran the team as effectively as she ran her Heritage High School team all season. The first match of the day was against a Nike Power team that has been playing us tougher each time we have played them this year (this is the fourth meeting so far). After winning the first game, Nike got tougher and we slacked off a bit (a common occurrence in this sport) and found ourselves down 21-11. After a few choice words during a time out, the team got it together and pulled off one of the best comebacks I have witnessed in my years of coaching. We won 25-23, out scoring Nike 14-2 in the stretch. With the rally scoring system, the score speaks for itself about the level of play the girls reached. I cannot begin to say how proud of them I was for their determination and composure under pressure.

The next two matches carried over the energy level they finished the Nike match with, easily defeating Vancouver Lightning and Webfoot Green.

The middle combination of Allison Lee and Cassandra Woods combined for a ton of blocks, and with the added assault from the outside hitting crew of Jenna Hatch and Whitney Luchau and the right side hitter Laura Jensen, the ladies made quick dispatch of the last two matches. But, the coach now adds, without the incredible passing of our phenom libero, Stephanie Weishaar and the DS Kynsi Stout, the front row would not have been as effective, as Shyanna Davis' work was made much easier as she did not have to run very often to set the hitters. Between her setting and her ability to see the court and dump or push to the corners, the opponents were kept on their heels throughout the matches.

The afternoon found us cross-pooling against the number 2 seed from the other half of the bronze division, Mt Hood VC. We had not played them this season and we did not have a chance to scout them during the morning. Laura Grambo arrived and allowed us to shift to a more comfortable lineup (even though the morning was pretty darn good) for the all-important match. As most of you readers know, the first match of the afternoon is the important one; it is the one which allows teams to move up the division ladder (or down if the morning was not good.)

From the very onset, the team quickly established superiority over the outgunned Mt Hood team, quickly getting up and staying on top to a one-sided victory of 25-7. We have been up big before, but usually ease off near the end of the game. The girls started to show a "killer" mentality and did not ease off, thus not allowing Mt Hood to gain any momentum to carry over into the second game. The second game was just as good with the girls only giving up 13 points. We just advanced to the Silver Division, with only the seeding match to play. The girls decided to celebrate a bit early with frozen yogurt desserts.

Now comes the learning lesson of the day. Never eat ice cream prior to the END of the day. It was not a wise move, but they had frozen yogurt cups before the championship and I think that is what we will blame the loss (in three) to a very athletic South Coast (North Bend/Coos Bay) team. But, I think we all know it wasn't the ice cream, but the ice cream's effect on our serve receive. Anyways, we lost a match, but still attained our goal of moving to Silver. One very good thing occurred during this match, however; Danielle Griffin got in and played very well, suffering no ill effects from her shoulder injury. We look to getting her back into the permanent rotation in Vegas.

"That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger" is a good lesson for the tourney, and we will work on what cost us the last match. The loss at the end should not, however, take anything away from the exemplary performance throughout the day. Hold your heads high, ladies, we are on our way.

My thanks again to the team and the parents for an outstanding job. Special thanks to the best wrap maker in America, Mary Weishaar (and her husband Brad who put her creation together for us) who again sent some good quality food to the tourney for the team.

See ya' after Vegas, 

Mike

We started our day against a very good Hapa team from the Olympia area. We clicked on all cylinders for the first half of the first game and then slowed a bit, allowing Hapa to take the first game of the match. The girls recovered and took the next two games as they began to really play as a team.

The next match found us against Nike Air Elite, perennially one of the best teams in the region. We started out really on our heels, moving slow and not reacting quick enough to the high speed play. The team did start pushing points late and regained the momentum to finish the first game in a respectable manner. The second game gave Nike a whole new look at the Blue team. We had them on the ropes late but could not pull it out. Afterwards, Nike's coach Rod Jones paid the ladies a lot of good compliments, which they were very deserving of receiving.

We finished our morning with a victory over Vancouver Lightning. VL is a team which for one reason or another just seems to play us tough...and we will see them again in two weeks in Eugene.

Finishing second gave us a much needed bye in the first round of the afternoon bracket play. We re-energized with a good healthy meal organized by Mary Weishaar and Erin Morris. Nothing like a good chicken Caesar wrap to get you ready for the afternoon...

We played Nike Power in the first match and played near our potential. The team knew that a win against the Nike squad would put us up against our sister team, ASICS. We played very well and quickly dispatched Nike.

Cowlitz ASICS was next on the list. After a good warm up and good pep talk, the ladies went out and played their best volleyball of the season. We played a seesaw 1st game against ASICS and ultimately pulled out a very tough victory. The girls knew only an all-out effort by the entire team would do, and that is exactly what we got. Unfortunately, we were unable to pull out the entire match, but the team seemed to be at least partially satisfied with their performance. We look forward to playing them again soon.

All of the ladies played very well, with the biggest kudos going to the entire team for its serving turnaround. Two weekends ago we missed 60 serves in a 5 match tournament; this past weekend, the team only missed 14 serves on the day, with only 1 missed serve in the match against ASICS. WHAT AN IMPROVEMENT!!!!! I am really proud of the effort to correct a big problem. This is the type of effort that makes teams good.

I would like to finish by thanking all the ladies for their performance, Andrea for the outstanding help coaching and the parents for their support. This truly is a team sport and without any one of these legs of the tripod, the chair crashes...Thanks again, see ya in Eugene ... Mike