LADY FISHERMEN VOLLEYBALL AMONG THE ELITE
With seven of the top ten ranked 4A volleyball teams in the state at Seaside's Invitational Tournament on Saturday, the Astoria Lady Fishermen had an opportunity to show that they belonged in that company.
Astoria looked right at home, cruising to first place in their pool and a two game win over Taft, only to be stopped by top-ranked North Bend in a 3-game semifinal match.
The top-ranked Bulldogs went on to lose to 2nd-ranked defending state champion Estacada 25-12, 23-25, 15-9 in the finals, but not before being stretched to an extra game in a competitive match with 4th-ranked Astoria.
"It was a good day," said Astoria head coach Angee Hunt. "We finished in the top four which was where we were kind of hoping to be.
"Getting to the finals is sort of a cherry on top with a tournament like this. It's kind of a good barometric reading of where we are at. It's the first time we got to see the Estacadas and the North Bends and the teams that are getting the top rankings. And we had a good day."
The Lady Fishermen won five and lost one game in their pool, sweepintg Marist (25-14, 25-23) and Sweet Home (25-12, 25-10) and splitting two games against Sisters (19-25, 25-17).
With an edge in point differential, Astoria took a top seed into the quarterfinals, dispatching Taft 25-17, 25-23 to set up a match against the North Bend Bulldogs, who finished second in state in 2005 and came in with the top rating.
The Bulldogs were without standout hitter Kelcy McKenna, in North Carolina on a college recruiting trip, but kept the Lady Fishermen off balance by setting a variety of hitters. Standout setter Kellie Holmstedt, a 4-year starter and another college prospect, proved to be a powerful hitter herself, recording three kills in the match in select opportunities.
Meredith Barnes recorded a stuff block to tie game one at 20-all, but an error by Barnes returned serve to the Bulldogs. Cheyanna Ohlrich, who has led the Bulldogs in kills while McKenna recuperates from a stress fracture, served North Bend to a 24-20 lead. Kristin Saulsbury recorded a kill off the block to fend off one game point, but the Bulldogs pulled out the 25-21 win.
In game two, North Bend steamed to a 12-5 lead, capped by an ace serve. Saulsbury won a side out with a kill, putting senior defensive specialist Amelia Hernandez at the service line. With Hernandez serving, senior middle blocker Wendi Agalzoff took over. Agalzoff's block kept a point alive for Saulsbury to put down her second staight kill. Then "Wonder Wendi" nailed three consecutive kills before combining with Saulsbury on another block for point. Later in the set, another Agalzoff block broke a 22-all tie. A dump set out of bounds by Holmstedt put the Fishermen at game point. An Ohlrich kill kept the set alive before Rachel Gascoigne set Saulsbury for the junior opposite's third kill of the game, giving Astoria the 25-23 edge and forcing a third game.
The experienced Bulldogs, all but one a senior, calmly raced to a 5-1 lead before the action began to go back and forth. The teams played evenly to the finish, but Astoria was unable to make up the deficit, falling 15-11.
"We kind of came out slow in the third game," said Hunt. "And against a good team like North Bend, a quality opponent, if you do that it opens the door and its hard to dig out."
"We finished the game solid, but when its 15 points and you're down 13-8 it's hard to make up those points against a quality team."
Agalzoff had six kills and seven blocks in the match, Saulsbury added 8 kills and outside hitter Sophie DeWitt had a team-high 15 kills.
In the finals, Estacada served four aces to cruise to a 25-12 game one win. A late surge gave the Bulldogs a 25-23 game two win before Estacade clinched the tournament championshp with a 15-9 victory in game three. Sisters and La Grande each forced the Lady Rangers to a third game in the quarterfinals and semifinals as the Rangers were clutch all afternoon.
Tillamook also reached the championship bracket, but levelled off after a strong start against La Grande. Leading 8-4 in game one, the Cheesemakers watched the Tigers score six of the next seven points to take the lead, eventually pulling out a 26-24 win. Tillamook was never in game two, as La Grande took a 7-0 lead from the topand had a 19-6 lead before earning the sweep with a 25-13 victory. In pool, Tillamook split with North Bend and La Salle, losing two games to Cascade to finish second to the Bulldogs.
Banks missed out on the championship bracket by a single point to Taft, splitting two games with the Tigers and winning two against Philomath while getting swept by Estacada. The Braves beat Sweet Home 22-25, 25-10, 15-10 before falling to Cascade 25-14, 25-14 in the consolation semifinals. Marist swept through the consolation bracket without losing a game, taking Cascade 26-24, 25-23.
Seaside finally won a game, splitting wtih Gladstone in pool play 25-18, 15-25. The Gulls lost to Stayton 10-25, 15-25 and played a competitive two games against La Grande, falling 15-25, 23-25. La Salle eliminated Seaside with a 25-22, 25-16 win in the consolation bracket before losing 26-24, 25-23 to Marist.
Astoria looked right at home, cruising to first place in their pool and a two game win over Taft, only to be stopped by top-ranked North Bend in a 3-game semifinal match.
The top-ranked Bulldogs went on to lose to 2nd-ranked defending state champion Estacada 25-12, 23-25, 15-9 in the finals, but not before being stretched to an extra game in a competitive match with 4th-ranked Astoria.
"It was a good day," said Astoria head coach Angee Hunt. "We finished in the top four which was where we were kind of hoping to be.
"Getting to the finals is sort of a cherry on top with a tournament like this. It's kind of a good barometric reading of where we are at. It's the first time we got to see the Estacadas and the North Bends and the teams that are getting the top rankings. And we had a good day."
The Lady Fishermen won five and lost one game in their pool, sweepintg Marist (25-14, 25-23) and Sweet Home (25-12, 25-10) and splitting two games against Sisters (19-25, 25-17).
With an edge in point differential, Astoria took a top seed into the quarterfinals, dispatching Taft 25-17, 25-23 to set up a match against the North Bend Bulldogs, who finished second in state in 2005 and came in with the top rating.
The Bulldogs were without standout hitter Kelcy McKenna, in North Carolina on a college recruiting trip, but kept the Lady Fishermen off balance by setting a variety of hitters. Standout setter Kellie Holmstedt, a 4-year starter and another college prospect, proved to be a powerful hitter herself, recording three kills in the match in select opportunities.
Meredith Barnes recorded a stuff block to tie game one at 20-all, but an error by Barnes returned serve to the Bulldogs. Cheyanna Ohlrich, who has led the Bulldogs in kills while McKenna recuperates from a stress fracture, served North Bend to a 24-20 lead. Kristin Saulsbury recorded a kill off the block to fend off one game point, but the Bulldogs pulled out the 25-21 win.
In game two, North Bend steamed to a 12-5 lead, capped by an ace serve. Saulsbury won a side out with a kill, putting senior defensive specialist Amelia Hernandez at the service line. With Hernandez serving, senior middle blocker Wendi Agalzoff took over. Agalzoff's block kept a point alive for Saulsbury to put down her second staight kill. Then "Wonder Wendi" nailed three consecutive kills before combining with Saulsbury on another block for point. Later in the set, another Agalzoff block broke a 22-all tie. A dump set out of bounds by Holmstedt put the Fishermen at game point. An Ohlrich kill kept the set alive before Rachel Gascoigne set Saulsbury for the junior opposite's third kill of the game, giving Astoria the 25-23 edge and forcing a third game.
The experienced Bulldogs, all but one a senior, calmly raced to a 5-1 lead before the action began to go back and forth. The teams played evenly to the finish, but Astoria was unable to make up the deficit, falling 15-11.
"We kind of came out slow in the third game," said Hunt. "And against a good team like North Bend, a quality opponent, if you do that it opens the door and its hard to dig out."
"We finished the game solid, but when its 15 points and you're down 13-8 it's hard to make up those points against a quality team."
Agalzoff had six kills and seven blocks in the match, Saulsbury added 8 kills and outside hitter Sophie DeWitt had a team-high 15 kills.
In the finals, Estacada served four aces to cruise to a 25-12 game one win. A late surge gave the Bulldogs a 25-23 game two win before Estacade clinched the tournament championshp with a 15-9 victory in game three. Sisters and La Grande each forced the Lady Rangers to a third game in the quarterfinals and semifinals as the Rangers were clutch all afternoon.
Tillamook also reached the championship bracket, but levelled off after a strong start against La Grande. Leading 8-4 in game one, the Cheesemakers watched the Tigers score six of the next seven points to take the lead, eventually pulling out a 26-24 win. Tillamook was never in game two, as La Grande took a 7-0 lead from the topand had a 19-6 lead before earning the sweep with a 25-13 victory. In pool, Tillamook split with North Bend and La Salle, losing two games to Cascade to finish second to the Bulldogs.
Banks missed out on the championship bracket by a single point to Taft, splitting two games with the Tigers and winning two against Philomath while getting swept by Estacada. The Braves beat Sweet Home 22-25, 25-10, 15-10 before falling to Cascade 25-14, 25-14 in the consolation semifinals. Marist swept through the consolation bracket without losing a game, taking Cascade 26-24, 25-23.
Seaside finally won a game, splitting wtih Gladstone in pool play 25-18, 15-25. The Gulls lost to Stayton 10-25, 15-25 and played a competitive two games against La Grande, falling 15-25, 23-25. La Salle eliminated Seaside with a 25-22, 25-16 win in the consolation bracket before losing 26-24, 25-23 to Marist.
posted by Matt Richert at 11:48 AM
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