Regional Championship
GOLD / SILVER DIVISION
April 23-24, 2005 @ The Courts at Beaverton - Beaverton, OR

The Cowlitz 18's Blue team had a good finish at the Regional Tournament this weekend, finishing third in the Silver Division. We started off Saturday's play with the number two seeded team from the Gold Division, Webfoot Gold. We had a slow start against a very good team, losing both games 13-25. We then played Salem Michael with a better showing, but still losing 17-25; 23-25. We almost took the second game as we were tied at 23, but two miscues on our part gave them the victory. Not to worry though, we rebounded in our next match, beating Nike Force 25-17; 25-21. This had us finishing third in our pool, which is where we started. In our challenge match, we faced PVC Purple, whom we've beaten in every match-up this year…except this one! PVC was having a fantastic tournament, eliminating teams early. We started off slow with a 15-25 loss, and battled hard with them in the second game, finally falling in a 24-26 war. We have to give credit to PVC…they were playing phenomenal volleyball this weekend. This put us in the Silver Division for Sunday's play.

We started off with Webfoot Silver, beating them 22-25; 25-12; 15-12. This is a match-up we've had all season and have only been able to triumph over them once before, this being the second time all season. We then played Alpine Aces, beating them in two, 25-19; 27-25. This left two undefeated teams, us and Greater Columbia, who was also playing inspired volleyball. We lost to them 15-25; 21-25. This put us in a loser's out game against Alpine Aces and this time the Aces claimed victory, 16-25; 24-26.

This team of 12 wonderful young ladies has been a privilege to coach and to get to know. They are all excellent students and great people. With 12 people on the team this year, it was a challenge to get adequate playing time as well as balance basketball, tennis, softball, golf, plays and life, but we managed. These twelve girls worked hard to improve their game and give it their best. We will be anxious to see them perform at their high schools this next season. It should be a lot of fun. With that, a big thank you to Annie, Amy, Kari, Laura, Kim, Rachael, Amanda, Charlee, Trista, Erin, Ashley and Dani. You are a fantastic group of athletes.

To the parents who traveled with us and provided all the necessary support to your daughters, we thank you. Your positive contributions to our team made this year fun and we couldn't have done that without you…thank you. You truly have wonderful kids!

Power League - April
SILVER DIVISION
April 3, 2005 @ Not Available

Sonoran Desert Classic
March 18-20, 2005 @ Tempe, AZ

Power League - March
SILVER DIVISION
March 6, 2005 @ Mt Hood CC - Gresham, OR

This was a weekend of peaks and valleys for the Cowlitz Blue 18's Team. We started off as the 5th seed in the Silver Division, with some great experienced gained from the Yakima Jamboree and a great Wednesday night practice. We felt as if we were going to make a step up, and we almost did! We started slowly, with a disappointing loss to Webfoot Silver (16-25; 21-25). Fortunately, we had a match off to regroup and continued on with a win over Salem-Michael (25-23; 27-25). In the second game, we came from a nine point deficit to win the match. It was a great come-back with some great defense. Our third pool match set us up against Canby TJ, which we won 25-22; 19-25; 15-10. With 2 wins and 1 loss, we thought for sure this would put us in either one or two in the pool finish. So much for thinking! We ended up in a three-way tie for 1st place. So, for the second Power League in a row, we were involved with play-off games to 15. We were matched up in the first round of this with the one team we had lost to that day, Webfoot Silver, losing 12-15. We lost an opportunity to possibly move into the Gold Division by 3 points! So with a third place finish in Pool Play, we needed to win our next match to stay in the Silver. The tables sure turned in a hurry. We played a Lakeside team, losing in a three game match (25-21; 13-25; 13-15). With two points being the determining factor, we now move into the Bronze Division. With heavy hearts, we played the final one game to 25 with Canby, beating them 25-12. So the story goes….

Northwest Juniors Jamboree
CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION
February 26-27, 2005 @ Yakima, WA

The Cowlitz 18's Blue started off the Yakima Jamboree with a slow start, but managed to get the win over Wahine Green Lokahi (25-21; 25-15). We continued our winning streak with a victory over Columbia Jrs. Red (25-13; 25-15). We then faced the Tournament Champions, Team Yakima Gold, losing 15-25; 18-25. This is where the speed of the game increased and we found ourselves a step behind. However, as the day continued, our play improved with a faster offense and a much-improved defense. It was fun to have the challenge of defending a quick offense. We came away with a better understanding of what we need to work on as a team and as individuals to elevate our game.

The second pool matched us up against our own Asics team. We were able to stay with them for about 10 points, and then their size, experience and quicker play took care of us in a hurry (15-25; 14-25). Nike NW Air Max was our next opponent and we suffered the same fate as with our Asics team (15-25; 15-25). We then missed getting into the top twelve by just 2 points, losing to Selah, 25-20; 21-25; 14-16. This was a tough match to lose, but the play was outstanding. We had nothing to hang our heads about….we played great!

In our first bracket play game, we last both games to PVC Purple, 12-25; 21-25. We had a little trouble putting it all together after a 3 hour wait, but that is one of the factors we have to overcome with tournament play.

Our top hitter for the weekend was KIM CARTER. Kim had an outstanding job at the net, being our most efficient hitter for the weekend. KARI SARYSZ also had a good weekend at the net, providing both power and finesse to her game. CHARLEE WUOLLET did a fantastic job of filling in as our second middle blocker on Saturday, with Rachel Lassen missing from the line-up due to a school singing event. Charlee played on the right side most of the rest of the weekend and did an outstanding job. We even got a chance to see her jump-set a perfect ball to the outside hitter. We're not sure if we got a kill or not, but we were sure impressed with the outstanding set! ERIN SANGER provided the defensive spark we needed, playing both left-back and center-back.

Next weekend takes us to Power League at Mt. Hood, which we hope to take some of things we learned this weekend to compete and improve our seed. We are looking forward to a successful weekend.

Power League - February
SILVER DIVISION
February 5, 2005 @ Albany, OR

Awards & More Tournament
January 27, 2005 @ Longview, WA

Our first match of the day put us against Beavers VC. After missing 14 serves and a sluggish start we still won 25-14, 25-16. Laura Jensen was unstoppable against the Angels VC. Laura was the go-to hitter in this match. With Laura's hitting and a few pushups to motivate our serving, the match was over and we were on top 25-8, 25-15.

PVC Blue 16's team was a little faster than we were accustomed to. We lost two straight 16-25, 16-25. We need to play more teams like this for us to get better.  We are better than most teams in the CEVA, but we still have a lot of room for improvement.

Nike Air Max 17's was the best team we played today. I must say that our middles, Amanda Harris and Rachel Lassen, held their own against Nike. They had some great blocks and timely hits when we needed them. Charlee Wuolett played well on the right side. When Charlee and our middles work together we have a pretty good wall on the right side. Nike put us away 15-25, 8-25.

Our next tournament will be Power League, Saturday in Albany again.

MLK Tournament
January 16-17, 2005 @ Bellevue Community College

The Cowlitz 18's Blue had a great run at the MLK Tournament at Bellevue Community College this last Sunday and Monday. With 20 teams, we were matched up with 5 other teams to play 3 games to 25 points. Due to family commitments, basketball practice and icy roads, we played with 2 players short both days. However, with 12 players, this wasn't a problem. Everyone filled in admirably. We won our first 4 matches, with 2 wins and 1 loss in each 3-game match. We started the day off with a team from the Kirkland area called Adrenaline, beating them 22-25; 25-18; 25-22. We then played Webfoot 17-Gold, with a great come-from-behind win in the first game, 26-24; and then played two more games with scores being 25-21 and 20-25. We continued play on Sunday with Northwest Juniors 17-Thunder and Northshore 18-Black, winning 4 games and losing just 2. Our last match of the tournament was on Monday, which matched us up against Puget Sound 17-Gold in three games straight. We just couldn't execute our offense or defense the way we did on the previous day.

The weekend was led with our two outstanding setters Amy Higginson and Ashley Aasen. Both did an outstanding job of running the offense and mixing up the plays. Their defensive play improved throughout the tournament as well. Rachel Lassen and Amanda Harris provided the middle attack for us for the entire weekend, both getting some great hits in, especially in our most exciting match against Northshore. This was our best match of the season so far....lots of energy and excitement and great play! It was a lot of fun! Laura Jensen, Kari Sarysz and Dani Nelson provided our outside attack with some great shots. They continue to learn that putting their "shots" in the court can get them a kill every time. Kim Carter played a little bit of everything this weekend, spending most of her time as our right side hitter, with some opportunities to hit outside, as well as play the libero. Kim is a valuable asset to this team in that she can play just about every position on the court. Having skills in all areas has made her a very good all-round player. Trista Staehely also filled in at the right side and in the middle before basketball took her away for our second day of competition. Erin Sanger and Annie Forman provided the defense this weekend, playing left-back and libero, respectively. They, along with their teammates, learned a new defense on the spot...we have not practiced it yet, but they did a great job making the adjustments.

It was a great weekend of play and it gave us an opportunity to see what we can do and what we still need to work on. This team has a lot of potential to go far with some outstanding athletes and very supportive parents. Thanks for a great weekend of play.

Power League Qualifier
January 8, 2005 @ Albany, OR