The 24th annual Las Vegas Deser Classic held over Presidents' Day week-end in February was a real learning experience for 10 rookie Asics Vegas tourney competitors. The trip through PDX was eventful on its own, as the CVC van was inadvertantly locked at the curb with the engine running and tickets locked inside. A late arriving plane and a quick response from AAA got us back on track, but established a theme for this trip - "late flights".
We had a very advantageous schedule on Saturday, drawing the main venue of the Cashman Center, a 2:00 first call, and reffing to began it all. Our first opponent was South Valley of San Fernando, CA, where we were victorious in 2. Next up was
Hi-Intensity of Hawaii, a grossly underseeded #4 seed in our pool. Although we competed fairly well, our offense sputtered and it was not to be - we lost in 2.
Officiates and a win was with our next match was our only hope for redemption, and a spot in the top half of the draw. Facing #2 seeded, and 14th overall, Surf City, that was going to be a tough get. We had a chance to win the 1st set, but lost by
2, and fell off considerably in Set 2, to lose by 9.
Day 2 found us playing in the bottom half of the draw at Spring Valley High School. Our offense came back to life and supported our ball control and excellent setting. We were victorious in 2 sets over Western Colorado, and smoked Vegas Girls in 2 as well. This brought us to our showdown with Arizona Saguards, a dominantly tall, aggressive offense that would test our mettle for sure. In our best effort of the tournament we stayed on top of all phases of our game to win a stellar match 25-20, and 25-19.
This one ws a spectators delight with many aggressive and hard fought rallies. We were most pleased with the total team effort and the marked change in our blocking schemes.
The last day was a major disappointment as we traveled to Durado High School and "passed" on the opportunity to improve on our final placement. Our ball control vanished in Set 1 as Monsoon of San Francisco took it to us. Set 2 was a much better effort as we lost it 24-26 to close out our Las Vegas experience.
Leaders for Cowlitz over the 7 match events were:
Digs: Erin 32
Hannah 24
Passing: Erin 2.15
Alesha 2.05
Assists: Hannah 55
Kylie M. 49
Kills %: Kylie .438
Rachel .295
Kills: Rachel 35
Kylie M. 29
Blocks Hannah 7
(Stuffs) Kylie M. 4
Aces: Hannah 11
Erin 6
Points: Hannah 30
Kylie M. 26
Shantelle 26
Serve %: Kylie M. 88
Shantelle 88
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
February Power League - Cowlitz Asics 18's Moving Up
In every tournament we enter, the goal is to maintain our seed, or improve it. In this tournament, held at the Salem Hoop, Asics were able to improve from 4th to 3rd seed in Silver after missing a chance to move to Gold in a close loss to Alpine Aces,
who eventually won the division and moved to 7th in Gold for March.
It was a very long day as a result of a 3-way tie n the other pool, which resulted in a 1 hour delay for the play-offs.
Seeded 2nd in pool, we started the day losing to 4th seeded Columbia Red team out of Kennewick, the same team we lost to last Saturday in Yakima in 3. There is something about our match-ups with that team that we are going to have to resolve soon!
Next up was Apollo Purple, the #3 seed. It was a struggle, but as would be a pattern for the remainder of the day, our front row play began exerting itself for the rest of the day.
Next up was the #1 seeded Blues team from Portland, a team that we absolutely dominated. Our middles, Rachel Kylie, and Stephanie clearly showed for the party, and dominated for the first time this year. Passing, serving and defense were on point - total domination.
The match with Alpine Aces was hard fought, and we nearly pulled it off in 2 with a well balanced attack, and a fabulous team effort. In the end we could not finish it off, but the signs of progress were obvious. Our offense is amazing!
The match for 3rd with the Suncats was determined early as we jumped off to a 7-0 lead on Alesha's power serves, followed by Kylie Moses and Erin who put the game out of reach. Kylie Hochhalter had some timely kills, but the finishing touches were applied by both Katie and Rachel who recorded consecutive stuff blocks to close out the match.
Next up is the annual Las Vegas Desert Classic, a tournament we have attended for 20 years. It will be a busy Presidents' Day week-end for our traveling group of 20.
Scores: Columbia Red: 21-25, 22-25
Apollo Purple: 26-24, 19-25, 15-9
Blues: 25-15, 25-12
Alpine Aces: 25-21, 21-25, 15-6
Suncats: 25-21
who eventually won the division and moved to 7th in Gold for March.
It was a very long day as a result of a 3-way tie n the other pool, which resulted in a 1 hour delay for the play-offs.
Seeded 2nd in pool, we started the day losing to 4th seeded Columbia Red team out of Kennewick, the same team we lost to last Saturday in Yakima in 3. There is something about our match-ups with that team that we are going to have to resolve soon!
Next up was Apollo Purple, the #3 seed. It was a struggle, but as would be a pattern for the remainder of the day, our front row play began exerting itself for the rest of the day.
Next up was the #1 seeded Blues team from Portland, a team that we absolutely dominated. Our middles, Rachel Kylie, and Stephanie clearly showed for the party, and dominated for the first time this year. Passing, serving and defense were on point - total domination.
The match with Alpine Aces was hard fought, and we nearly pulled it off in 2 with a well balanced attack, and a fabulous team effort. In the end we could not finish it off, but the signs of progress were obvious. Our offense is amazing!
The match for 3rd with the Suncats was determined early as we jumped off to a 7-0 lead on Alesha's power serves, followed by Kylie Moses and Erin who put the game out of reach. Kylie Hochhalter had some timely kills, but the finishing touches were applied by both Katie and Rachel who recorded consecutive stuff blocks to close out the match.
Next up is the annual Las Vegas Desert Classic, a tournament we have attended for 20 years. It will be a busy Presidents' Day week-end for our traveling group of 20.
Scores: Columbia Red: 21-25, 22-25
Apollo Purple: 26-24, 19-25, 15-9
Blues: 25-15, 25-12
Alpine Aces: 25-21, 21-25, 15-6
Suncats: 25-21
Monday, February 1, 2010
January 3, 2010 - Pre-qualifier - Longview
The 2010 season, and the 30th year of the Cowlitz Volleyball Club kicked off on January 3, 2010 with the pre-qualifier 18's tournament at Lower Columbia College, and Mark Morris High School.
The 14 team event gave us the opportunity to unveil the 18 Asics team consisting of 11 athletes from 2 different countries, and 7 different high schools. We have struggled early with injuries, illness, and basketball practice, stopping players and coaches from all being at a practice together.
It became a day of firsts, with Asics accumulating one 8-3 set record and a second place finish behind Excel Black of Vancouver. At this early juncture of the season, our defense is clearly ahead of the offense as we stifled many an opponents efforts to terminate on our side of the net.
It was a very worthwhile initial outing, so now lets meet the players:
Alesha Schulz, 5'3", libero/defensive specialist, is a senior from Mark Morris with a long history of success with Cowlitz.
Erin Bate, 5'6", libero/defensive specialist/setter, is a junior from Ridgefield.
Hannah Johnson, 5'11", setter/ opposite, a junior from R.A. Long, whose Mom was one of the original Cowlitz players back in the early years.
Vanessa Reich, 5'6", outside hitter from Toledo by way of Schlierback Germany, will only be with us thru January before she returns home.
Kylie Moses, 5'9", setter, a junior from Woodland, is the daughter of Karen Moses (Mills) who encountered head coach Bill Marshall in his early years at R. A. Long as she led her Cheney High School team against R.A. Long.
Stephanie Styger, 5'11", outside hitter/middle blocker, a senior from Napavine in just her second year in the club.
Shantelle Savage, 5'5" defensive specialist/outside hitter, a senior from Mark Morris, this veteran of the club wars will add spice to any position she plays.
Caitlin Perrin, 5'10" outside hitter, a junior from Toutle Lake is up from our 16 Asics team, and will push others for an outside spot.
Rachel Morrow, 6'3" middle, a junior from R.A. Long is the second tallest player in club history, and should become a mainstay at the net.
Kylie Hochhalter, 5'11" middle blocker, a junior from Ridgefield is returning to Cowlitz after a 2 year absence, and will push for minutes after recovering from her injury.
Katie Sarysz, 5'11" middle blocker, a senior from R.A. Long is a veteran of Cowlitz teams following in her older sister's footsteps, and is capable of playing any of the 3 front row positions.
Scores from January 3rd competition:
North County: 25-7, 25-12
Gig Harbor: 27-25, 22-25
Power Surge Gold: 25-17, 25-10
Narrows Purple: 25-12, 25-10
Excel Silver: 25-21, 25-12
Excel Black: 14-25, 17-25
Keep watching for more tournament updates!
Coach Marshall
The 14 team event gave us the opportunity to unveil the 18 Asics team consisting of 11 athletes from 2 different countries, and 7 different high schools. We have struggled early with injuries, illness, and basketball practice, stopping players and coaches from all being at a practice together.
It became a day of firsts, with Asics accumulating one 8-3 set record and a second place finish behind Excel Black of Vancouver. At this early juncture of the season, our defense is clearly ahead of the offense as we stifled many an opponents efforts to terminate on our side of the net.
It was a very worthwhile initial outing, so now lets meet the players:
Alesha Schulz, 5'3", libero/defensive specialist, is a senior from Mark Morris with a long history of success with Cowlitz.
Erin Bate, 5'6", libero/defensive specialist/setter, is a junior from Ridgefield.
Hannah Johnson, 5'11", setter/ opposite, a junior from R.A. Long, whose Mom was one of the original Cowlitz players back in the early years.
Vanessa Reich, 5'6", outside hitter from Toledo by way of Schlierback Germany, will only be with us thru January before she returns home.
Kylie Moses, 5'9", setter, a junior from Woodland, is the daughter of Karen Moses (Mills) who encountered head coach Bill Marshall in his early years at R. A. Long as she led her Cheney High School team against R.A. Long.
Stephanie Styger, 5'11", outside hitter/middle blocker, a senior from Napavine in just her second year in the club.
Shantelle Savage, 5'5" defensive specialist/outside hitter, a senior from Mark Morris, this veteran of the club wars will add spice to any position she plays.
Caitlin Perrin, 5'10" outside hitter, a junior from Toutle Lake is up from our 16 Asics team, and will push others for an outside spot.
Rachel Morrow, 6'3" middle, a junior from R.A. Long is the second tallest player in club history, and should become a mainstay at the net.
Kylie Hochhalter, 5'11" middle blocker, a junior from Ridgefield is returning to Cowlitz after a 2 year absence, and will push for minutes after recovering from her injury.
Katie Sarysz, 5'11" middle blocker, a senior from R.A. Long is a veteran of Cowlitz teams following in her older sister's footsteps, and is capable of playing any of the 3 front row positions.
Scores from January 3rd competition:
North County: 25-7, 25-12
Gig Harbor: 27-25, 22-25
Power Surge Gold: 25-17, 25-10
Narrows Purple: 25-12, 25-10
Excel Silver: 25-21, 25-12
Excel Black: 14-25, 17-25
Keep watching for more tournament updates!
Coach Marshall
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