SALISBURY, FISHERMEN SPANK MOOKS
It was "Camo Night" at the Brick House Tuesday night and the Astoria volleyball team played with the precision and ferocity of an elite military fighting unit. What metaphor could be more apt for volleyball, a sport in which points are scored on kills?
Kristen Saulsbury had eight of her match-high 16 kills in game three as the Astoria Lady Fishermen pounded the first place Tillamook Cheesemakers 25-15, 25-21, 25-16 to jump into a first place tie in the Cowapa League.
"That's how it should have been down there," said Saulsbury, whose team dropped a four-game match at Tillamook last month in the first meeting of the two teams, "but we psyched ourselved out. I think this time we handled ourselved a little better and took care of it."
The earlier loss to the Cheesemakers meant Astoria needed a win to stay in the hunt for a second consecutive Cowapa League title. Now, the rubber match and likely league title showdown is slated for October 18 at Tillamook, when the Cowapa League co-leaders meet for a third time.
The team may want to start lobbying for a rooter bus or ponying up gas money to ferry a group of the vocal 'Fishermen Fanatics' to Tillamook in two weeks. The rowdy student section turned out en masse, almost all clothed in camoflage gear, to help Astoria to a home court advantage, while Tillamook always gets strong support from students and parents for home games and their three league losses at home over three years shows it. The Lady Fishermen haven't won at Tillamook in more than three years.
Astoria used accurate hitting and an effective mixed bag of serves to dispatch the Cheesemakers, who lost their first league game after seven straight victories.
"Offense really clicked tonight," said Astoria head coach Angee Hunt. "We hit probably our best percentage of the season."
Tillamook, perhaps pushed off-target by a strong Astoria block, struggled to put the ball in play on offense in game one. The Cheesemakers had ten attack errors to Astoria's two as the Lady Fishermen led nearly wire-to-wire.
Emily Bunnell closed out game one with a 5-point service run and Meredith Barnes put away a game point kill off an assist by Kayce Lilley, her fourth kill of the game.
After smooth sailing, Astoria immediately hit choppy water in game two, as the Cheesemakers took advantage of wildly erratic passing to build a 7-1 lead, forcing an early time out.
"It was just sort of a mental letdown," said Hunt. "Just coming out a little relaxed. When you beat a team solidly in the first game you have a tendency to let up. Tillamook's a good team. You can't give them too much slack because they'll take it and run with it."
The severely skittish serve-receive eventually settled down mid-match, and Sophie DeWitt helped turn the tide with an 8-point service run that included some superb back row play. Danielle Bergeson, a junior, came off the bench to combine with DeWitt in the back row and both players contributed to the run with kills from behind the 10-foot line, as Astoria turned a 15-13 deficit into a 21-15 lead. As in game one, Barnes closed things out with a sharp downward hit for a game point kill.
"That's a testament to how hard they were able to work and pick things up and turn it around and stay mentally on track with the gameplan," said Hunt.
DeWitt, who had a quiet night hitting with just five kills in the match, had serving runs of three or more points in each game, finishing 23-for-23 with four aces to go with two solo blocks.
Meanwhile, Kristen Saulsbury more than picked up slack at the net. The senior outside hitter had five kills in game two, but was just getting warmed up. After Tilly took an early 3-0 lead in game two, DeWitt again stepped behind the line as Astoria ran off four straight points, helped by a Salisbury overkill, an ace serve by DeWitt and two more Tillamook hitting errors. The Fishermen would never trail again.
Saulsbury served up a variety of putaways, with power shots, a well-placed power tip, a beautiful line tip and her patented paintbrush off-speed shot. Even after a disputed over-net call, Saulsbury responded with a forceful smash from just inside the 10-foot line to win back the side-out late in the match. Saulsbury hit .433 for the match with just one error.
"Great hitters can make any set look awesome," said Hunt. "It's the good hitters that need the ones coming to them in the same place every time to get the kills. She's really adjusting nicely and making some smart shots and doing some nice things with the ball."
Another possible momentum killer in game three would not throw the Fishermen off course when Tillamook's Chelsea Schriber crossed the center line, causing senior middle blocker Meredith Barnes to come down on her foot. Barnes rolled her ankle and had to be helped off the floor. Astoria led 8-5 at the time, but Tillmook was never able to gain ground, with the Fishermen eventually pulling away for strong finish and a 3-game sweep.
"Meredith was playing great tonight," said Hunt. "She was owning the net and she was blocking big. We ended up with Kristen in the middle and she had a real nice block and a couple of kills in that rotation."
Ashlee Martens, a junior, jumped in to relieve Barnes and was able to make a positive contribution. Barnes, who has injured the same ankle previously, was able to return at the end of the match and was optimistic about being able to return to practice Wednesday.
The Lady Fishermen improved to 8-2 overall with the win, with both losses coming to teams they will see this Saturday at the Seaside Tournament, an annual congregation of the top volleyball teams in Northern Oregon. Astoria will be pooled with 2nd-ranked La Grande, a team they defeated at the state tournament last year. Sweet Home and Cascade from the Capital Conference will also be pooled against Astoria at the tourney, which starts bright and early at 8:00 a.m. Saturday at Seaside High School and Broadway Middle School. Number one-ranked Estacada, which handed Astoria its only other loss, and defending state champion North Bend will be among the teams competing at Seaside. Tillamook will also be at the tournament along with Banks from the Cowapa League.
Prior to the Seaside Tournament, the Lady Fishermen travel to Yamhill-Carlton for their next Cowapa League game on Thursday.
Kristen Saulsbury had eight of her match-high 16 kills in game three as the Astoria Lady Fishermen pounded the first place Tillamook Cheesemakers 25-15, 25-21, 25-16 to jump into a first place tie in the Cowapa League.
"That's how it should have been down there," said Saulsbury, whose team dropped a four-game match at Tillamook last month in the first meeting of the two teams, "but we psyched ourselved out. I think this time we handled ourselved a little better and took care of it."
The earlier loss to the Cheesemakers meant Astoria needed a win to stay in the hunt for a second consecutive Cowapa League title. Now, the rubber match and likely league title showdown is slated for October 18 at Tillamook, when the Cowapa League co-leaders meet for a third time.
The team may want to start lobbying for a rooter bus or ponying up gas money to ferry a group of the vocal 'Fishermen Fanatics' to Tillamook in two weeks. The rowdy student section turned out en masse, almost all clothed in camoflage gear, to help Astoria to a home court advantage, while Tillamook always gets strong support from students and parents for home games and their three league losses at home over three years shows it. The Lady Fishermen haven't won at Tillamook in more than three years.
Astoria used accurate hitting and an effective mixed bag of serves to dispatch the Cheesemakers, who lost their first league game after seven straight victories.
"Offense really clicked tonight," said Astoria head coach Angee Hunt. "We hit probably our best percentage of the season."
Tillamook, perhaps pushed off-target by a strong Astoria block, struggled to put the ball in play on offense in game one. The Cheesemakers had ten attack errors to Astoria's two as the Lady Fishermen led nearly wire-to-wire.
Emily Bunnell closed out game one with a 5-point service run and Meredith Barnes put away a game point kill off an assist by Kayce Lilley, her fourth kill of the game.
After smooth sailing, Astoria immediately hit choppy water in game two, as the Cheesemakers took advantage of wildly erratic passing to build a 7-1 lead, forcing an early time out.
"It was just sort of a mental letdown," said Hunt. "Just coming out a little relaxed. When you beat a team solidly in the first game you have a tendency to let up. Tillamook's a good team. You can't give them too much slack because they'll take it and run with it."
The severely skittish serve-receive eventually settled down mid-match, and Sophie DeWitt helped turn the tide with an 8-point service run that included some superb back row play. Danielle Bergeson, a junior, came off the bench to combine with DeWitt in the back row and both players contributed to the run with kills from behind the 10-foot line, as Astoria turned a 15-13 deficit into a 21-15 lead. As in game one, Barnes closed things out with a sharp downward hit for a game point kill.
"That's a testament to how hard they were able to work and pick things up and turn it around and stay mentally on track with the gameplan," said Hunt.
DeWitt, who had a quiet night hitting with just five kills in the match, had serving runs of three or more points in each game, finishing 23-for-23 with four aces to go with two solo blocks.
Meanwhile, Kristen Saulsbury more than picked up slack at the net. The senior outside hitter had five kills in game two, but was just getting warmed up. After Tilly took an early 3-0 lead in game two, DeWitt again stepped behind the line as Astoria ran off four straight points, helped by a Salisbury overkill, an ace serve by DeWitt and two more Tillamook hitting errors. The Fishermen would never trail again.
Saulsbury served up a variety of putaways, with power shots, a well-placed power tip, a beautiful line tip and her patented paintbrush off-speed shot. Even after a disputed over-net call, Saulsbury responded with a forceful smash from just inside the 10-foot line to win back the side-out late in the match. Saulsbury hit .433 for the match with just one error.
"Great hitters can make any set look awesome," said Hunt. "It's the good hitters that need the ones coming to them in the same place every time to get the kills. She's really adjusting nicely and making some smart shots and doing some nice things with the ball."
Another possible momentum killer in game three would not throw the Fishermen off course when Tillamook's Chelsea Schriber crossed the center line, causing senior middle blocker Meredith Barnes to come down on her foot. Barnes rolled her ankle and had to be helped off the floor. Astoria led 8-5 at the time, but Tillmook was never able to gain ground, with the Fishermen eventually pulling away for strong finish and a 3-game sweep.
"Meredith was playing great tonight," said Hunt. "She was owning the net and she was blocking big. We ended up with Kristen in the middle and she had a real nice block and a couple of kills in that rotation."
Ashlee Martens, a junior, jumped in to relieve Barnes and was able to make a positive contribution. Barnes, who has injured the same ankle previously, was able to return at the end of the match and was optimistic about being able to return to practice Wednesday.
The Lady Fishermen improved to 8-2 overall with the win, with both losses coming to teams they will see this Saturday at the Seaside Tournament, an annual congregation of the top volleyball teams in Northern Oregon. Astoria will be pooled with 2nd-ranked La Grande, a team they defeated at the state tournament last year. Sweet Home and Cascade from the Capital Conference will also be pooled against Astoria at the tourney, which starts bright and early at 8:00 a.m. Saturday at Seaside High School and Broadway Middle School. Number one-ranked Estacada, which handed Astoria its only other loss, and defending state champion North Bend will be among the teams competing at Seaside. Tillamook will also be at the tournament along with Banks from the Cowapa League.
Prior to the Seaside Tournament, the Lady Fishermen travel to Yamhill-Carlton for their next Cowapa League game on Thursday.
posted by Matt Richert at 9:19 PM
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