Youthful women’s volleyball team finishes strong

Clark's women's volleyball team overcame youth and a tough preseason to finish third in the West Division and make an appearance in the 2011 NWAACC Volleyball Championship tournament. The tournament was held Nov. 17-20 at Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham.

"This is the first time in quite a long time that we have had back-to-back NWAACC Championship tournament appearances," head coach Jessie Uribe said.

Clark had a rough start to the season, losing five of its first eight games in the preseason to teams outside its division. The Penguins' season ended Nov. 17 with a 3-0 loss to Mt. Hood in the first match of the NWAACC championship tournament.

Youth dominated the 2011 roster, which included nine freshmen and three sophomores. Uribe had each of the three sophomores serve as team leaders.

"I feel like I taught the freshmen a lot," sophomore middle blocker and team captain Morgan Harris said. "I take volleyball very seriously and try my best to set a good example for the rest of the team."

Uribe credited his sophomores with taking the reins and making big plays in tough game situations. One example that stands out to Uribe is when the sophomores finished atop all statistical categories after a 3-0 home win against Tacoma Nov. 4.

According to Uribe, the most notable game of the season was the contest against Tacoma, a game that was featured as sophomore night. "The team was completely fired up for that game," he said.

Freshman setter Kelsey Oiness agreed with Uribe and said she had had the most fun playing volleyball that night.

"The energy of every single player was amazing and we played together as a team better than we ever have before," she said.

Harris said the match was one of the more emotional matches of the season.

"It was sophomore night, which is already emotional," Harris said. "Then to see everyone come together and be so happy is something I'll never forget."

According to Uribe, this was the first time in five years the team had recorded a three-set victory over Tacoma.

Harris and Oiness both agreed the team's worst game was their 3-0 loss to conference rival Lower Columbia College in Longview. The Penguins' Oct. 21 matchup against the Lower Columbia Red Devils was the second meeting between the two squads.

"We all seemed to have an off-game and weren't communicating at all," said Oiness.

Clark split the season series with Lower Columbia at one game apiece. The Penguins defeated the Red Devils in five sets Sep. 21, but fell in three sets for the 3-0 loss in October.

Harris and Oiness both said if the team needed to improve on anything, it would be its consistency.

"We would play amazing in one game and then just lose it in the next," said Oiness. "We were just all over the place at times."

Oiness noted that the most important thing she learned this season was to trust her teammates both on and off the court.

"I made some great friends this season and I don't know what I would do without them," she said. "They have my back, and I have theirs."

Returning as a sophomore next season, Oiness plans on pushing herself and her teammates to the limit during practices and games.

Uribe thinks that, if he can bring in a strong recruiting class, the Clark women's volleyball team has a chance of returning to the NWAACC tournament. He said, however, that he has to replace the spots left by three outgoing sophomores, and that it is more than simply filling three spots.

"We have big shoes to fill with our three sophomores leaving," he said.