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Published
November 15, 2003
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Crusaders Win State
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Riverside
Christian's Erin Shively and teammates celebrate their semifinal win
over Garfield-Palouse on Saturday afternoon at the Yakima Valley SunDome.
The Crusaders later beat Almira/Coulee-Hartline for the state
championship.
Photo by GORDON KING
Yakima Herald-Republic |
By
SCOTT SANDSBERRY
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
They demonstrated their championship mettle long before they celebrated it.
It wasn’t during Riverside Christian’s four-game triumph over
Almira/Coulee-Hartline in Saturday night’s Class B title match, or even when
they throttled the state’s No. 1-ranked team in a stunning three-game
semifinal.
No, it was less than a half-hour into the season, when the Crusaders found
themselves trailing 24-14 in the first game of a non-league match that
didn’t mean anything.
Except this: These Crusaders don’t like losing, and know what to do about
it.
That’s what coach Mike Hargrave found out the day his team rallied from that
double-digit deficit to win the game.
“That,” Hargrave said Saturday, “was when I knew we were a good team.
“I’ve coached volleyball for a long time, and this is a good volleyball
team. Good athletes, good technical volleyball skills, players that know
their roles and walk onto the court calmly to do their job. That’s what it
takes: Know your role and get your job done.”
After topping Bi-County power ACH 23-25, 25-15, 25-18, 26-24 in a rousing
final, the Crusaders’ collective roles now are that of state champions,
something that may take a little while to sink in.
“It’s amazing,” enthused Sharelle Wells, the junior middle hitter who all
but took over the championship match. “You’re No. 1. No one can beat you.
It’s awesome.”
That would be the best word to describe Wells’ performance in the final,
when she slammed 27 kills, including eight straight kills during a 9-3 run
that locked up game two for Riverside Christian after the Crusaders had
dropped the opening game.
“I think Sharelle ought to reconsider her extended basketball career and
consider a little volleyball on the side,” Crusaders coach Mike Hargrave
said with a grin. “Sharelle took it up a notch above and beyond most normal
middle hitters. She was in a groove that that just couldn’t be stopped.
Allyson (Schmidt) kept giving her the ball, and the defense kept getting
Allyson the ball to give to her.”
As a basketball player, Wells recognized the feeling — it’s the same as when
a jump shooter just can’t miss. It’s being in the zone.
“It’s the most amazing feeling, like you just can’t miss,” she said. “You go
up and hit the ball, it hits the ground ... yeah, that’s it.”
Erin Shively, the other half of the Crusaders’ 1-2 middle punch, added 16
kills (and four blocks), and four other Crusaders had three or more.
Schmidt, understandably, had a slew of assists — 44, to be exact — in the
victory, which ended when Wells blocked a tip by ACH middle Sheena
Henderson. Schmidt had four kills of her own on some timely tips, including
one that closed out game two and another that put the Crusaders ahead 22-21
in the final game.
And RC needed every one of them to offset the explosive hitting of ACH
senior Bailee Clark, a powerful 5-8 outside whose eight first-game kills had
given the Warriors their short-lived lead.
The Crusaders’ stunning 25-18, 25-21, 25-22 semifinal victory over
Garfield-Palouse, which had carried the No. 1 ranking virtually all season,
was another showcase for Wells and Shively. They combined for 32 kills, with
Shively dominating the first game, Wells the second and Shively the third.
“That’s the way it’s been all year long,” Hargrave said. “It’ll be one game
and the other the next. Shively can get in a groove where she’ll never miss
the court.”
And with both of them hitting like that, Gar-Pal had no answer. The Vikings
went down in three, then went down in another quick three to St. George’s in
the match for third and sixth places.
“I realize Garfield-Palouse is a good volleyball team,” Hargrave said. “The
tough part is being a good team when somebody’s hitting the ball at you.
Once you go on the defensive, it’s not long before the game’s over.”
The other semifinal was a real war, with ACH having to the distance to edge
gritty St. George’s 23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 21-25, 15-11, and doing it with
both aggressive net play, dogged defense and big-time balance. Bailee Clark
hammered 18 kills and churned up 29 digs, while Kristen Dormaier got 13 and
27, Sheena Henderson 10 and 29 and Kami Clark 12 and 23.
For St. George’s, setter Chris Nolen racked up 19 digs, a tourney match-high
57 assists and four aces, and Katie Wysham hammered 25 kills.
In a showdown of the other two local teams, Kittitas edged La Salle in a
five-game marathon to eliminate the Lightning, which got a 37-dig,
five-kill, three-ace performance from Chelsea Heffner, a nine-kill,
three-block game from Julie Walker and 11 blocks from Cristal German.
Kittitas then lost the fifth-eighth place match in four games to
Sprague-Harrington, which got a combined 27 kills and 21 blocks from Stacy
Buddrius and Stacie Shields.
Tekoa-Oakesdale closed out Morton in a tough five-game match for fourth and
seventh places.
But the tournament belonged to Riverside Christian, a team that had been
largely overlooked on the state scene even though they lost only once all
year, to eventual Class 1A eighth-placer Goldendale in the SunDome
Volleyball Festival — on the same floor they would spend two days proving
they were the best in the state.
“We practiced so hard for this. We were so determined to keep our focus,”
Schmidt said. “I think our prayers and our God-given talent let us do this.”
And one more thing: the ability not to get flustered. The Crusaders came
back from fairly sizeable deficits in all three games against Gar-Pal and
from one game down against ACH.
“You have to make sure not to get down,” Schmidt said. “It’s not over until
the last point.”
Especially when you have hitters like Wells, Shively and Katie Van Beek, not
to mention players like Toni Schweyen, Lexi DiPietro and Megan McKinney who
can dig the ball practically out of the floor and teamwork that makes them
all fit together.
Plus, the right goal in mind.
“Before each match,” DiPietro said, “we talk about our goals. We close our
eyes and picture ourselves playing perfectly.”
To see that on Saturday, all the Crusaders had to do was open their eyes.
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