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........................... Nov. 30 - Jan. 06, 2001
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| Record setting season ends with fifth place finish in NWAAC | |
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The tournament, held at BCC Nov. 15-17, hosted the top four teams from the four divisions, representing 16 of the 28 schools competing in NWAACC volleyball.
"We finished really strong," Dolphin's coach Raquel West said. "We did great for a team comprised primarily of first-year students."
Adding to the magnitude of the Dolphin's achievement was the North Division's trend of being weaker than the other divisions over the years.
This year the trend continued with the South Division claiming first (Mt. Hood) and third (Chemeketa). The East took second (Spokane) and the West claimed fourth (Columbia Basin). Despite the North Division's struggle to earn a top spot, the Dolphins came out of the tournament with strong results.
On Thursday, Nov. 15, Shoreline combated the Clackamas Cougars (South Division, 5-7 in league play, 8-10 overall) and advanced in the double-elimination tournament in four games, going 3-1 in a best out of 5 match.
A member of Peru's National Volleyball Team and now first-year student at the College, Natalia Monteverde lead the Dolphins with 32 kills, three blocked shots and 29 digs followed by teammate Tara Glover's 15 spikes and 18 digs.
Previously, the Cougars had beaten the Dolphins three times in regular season play, but Shoreline started the tournament strong, reversing the trend and beating Clackamas 30-27, 28-30, 31-29, 30-21.
"Both teams were nervous," Dolphins coach Mark West said. "The match came down to who settled their nerves first."
The following day the Dolphins faced off against the Walla Walla Warriors (East Division, 8-2 in league play, 11-4 overall) who many coaches consider a strong, tough team.
The Dolphins, however, again defeated their opponent with only one loss outscoring the warriors 30-25, 28-30, 30-11, 30-23.
Monteverde had 15 kills, three blocks and 16 digs while Glover earned 16 kills and had 8 digs. Combined with teammate Jessica English's 10 kills and 11 digs, the Dolphins ousted the East's strongest competition, excepting second-place Spokane next.
Raquel also cited Stephanie Hinkle's role as setter as key factor to their win. Hinkle, who had 162 completed assists throughout the tournament, also had four kills and ten blocks in the match against the Warriors.
"They played great," Raquel said. "You can tell they had fun and wanted to win."
Husband and coaching partner Mark agreed with Raquel, "The girls focused on the little things, that's what helped them build their confidence," he said. "Everyone did great, they all played good defense, hit well, and blocked well."
Two games into the winner's bracket, the Dolphins were just three wins away from an NWAACC championship. "The way we played today proved we can do it," Monteverde said after the Walla Walla victory. "Everybody is doing good, we're playing as a team."
The team's confidence was boosted with their victory. "We did perfect," Monteverde said. "We're ready for the finals."
"This is an exciting time for Shoreline Community College," Athletic Director Ken Burrus said. "They've put themselves in a real good position, they can do really good when they want to."
Day three of the tournament brought the Mt. Hood Saints who presented the greatest challenge the Dolphins had faced. The defending champion Saints, who eventually went on to secure their first place position with the NWAACC championship, defeated the Dolphins 30-25 in their first game.
The Dolphins kept the second game close. At one point they evened out the score at 25-25, however they were outscored 5-2 to finish the game and fell behind 0-2 in the match.
Shoreline dominated the two time champions in the third game, establishing a firm lead early and winning 30-22. But in the final game the Dolphins again found themselves tied at 25 a piece and allowed the Saints to pull ahead for their third win 30-26.
With Mt. Hood's dominance of NWAACC volleyball, the Dolphins made a strong effort against the primarily second-year student team, the Saints, losing by only five, four, and three points in their games.
Monteverde compiled 20 kills, three blocked shots, and 17 digs in the match; Glover also made a strong contribution with nine kills and 18 digs.
The match was team effort, however, with Leanne Scmid's eight kills, two blocks and three digs, along with Jessica English and Rebecca Werden's combined 64 serves.
Both teams were fighting to stay alive.
Since the Dolphins were in the loser's bracket, the match was a best two out of three series. The Hawks hit first, starting the first game with 6-1 lead. The Dolphins tied it up midway 15-15, however. But in the end the Hawks finished with a 30-26 victory.
Like their previous games, the Dolphins fought hard to tie the game up at 25-25 in the second game, but loss 30-25.
With their backs against the wall in a must-win game, Shoreline made multiple diving efforts near the end of game three, but lost 15-11 and finished in fifth.
"We played good in our previous games, but lost our focus against the Hawks," said Monteverde, who had 19 kills and 14 digs in the match.
"Overall, we're happy," Raquel said. "The Dolphins were very tired in the second game but were fighting for the little energy they had. We were simply outnumbered by the Hawks who had more substitutes."
As an example of the Dolphin's persistence, Raquel cited Teresea Causin, who had injured herself a week before the tournament. "I was wondering if she could play with a bad shoulder," Raquel said. "But Teresea kept telling me 'I gotta be there, I gotta be there.'" In the end, Causin played every game.
For Monteverde, who made second-team all stars, she has the eyes of many major four-year colleges on her.
"She's a strong player and has lot's of energy," Raquel said. "Depending on how she does in school, she may play for us again."
When the tournament was over and their season at a close, the team walked away from a memorable season and a division championship, with hard.
"The year had it's ups and downs, partly because the team was work and resilience in the accomplishments that they can look back on with pride mostly first-year Dolphins," Raquel said. "The kids worked hard though, they were good listeners and you could tell they wanted to be champions."
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| by Chris Collins | |
After accomplishing a first-time feat in school history by claiming the North Division Championship with an 11-1 season record, the Dolphins battled in the NWAACC Championship Tournament going 2-2 over the weekend and tying for fifth with Bellevue Community College.
Less than two hours later, the team began their fourth game, facing against the Columbia Basin Hawks. The Hawks, who were competing in their fifth game, were fresh off a victory against southwest Oregon. The Dolphins were coming in sore but rested, against the Hawks.
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