A couple teams of Greyhounds and some Vikings
are good choices in the reclassified 2A tourney

By PAUL SHUGAR
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

There will be a lot of first-time handshakes in the SunDome during the Class 2A volleyball tournament, and plenty of new names being engraved on trophies.

Reclassification has left participating coaches shrugging their shoulders and going by reputation on who is the favorite in a field that mostly hasn't seen each other during the regular season. Many are even hesitant to offer a guess.

Should they go with Pullman? The team that is No. 1 in the state polls and the defending 2A champ. What about Selah? The Vikings are the defending Class 3A champions. Then there are those other Greyhounds, from Grandview. They finished fifth last year and are the only other team back that got a trophy.

And what about all those potentially dangerous teams that could pose all sorts of matchup problems that coaches don't even know about?

"It's really tough because it's a whole new look with better athletes all around," Pullman coach Jennifer Greeny said. "We're kind of, in my opinion, one of the smaller schools from a small town. Hopefully, we'll rise to the challenge."

While Greeny might shirk the top-dog role, Pullman has done everything to deserve the No. 1 ranking and will have plenty of time to check out the competition. The Greyhounds, led by Great Northern League MVP Grethe Vogel, will watch all their potential opponents play before taking the court with an unblemished 28-0 record at 2:15 p.m. Friday against Lynden.

None of those wins came against newcomers like second-ranked Selah, which might await Pullman in the semifinals. The Vikings are CWAC district champs after knocking off the previous No. 1, Grandview, in three straight games for the district's top seed.

Grandview beat Selah on the Vikings' home court during the regular season 3-1, but the loss helped put some focus back into Kay Aberle's players. Led by setter Allyson Powell and outside hitter Rachel Fickes, Selah seems to have clicked as it prepares to play in front of plenty of fans in the SunDome.

"We played awesome -- the best we've ever played," said Aberle of her team's win against Grandview. "I think we've been getting better the last couple of weeks. I've been messing with the lineup, and the team's really solidified. I can tell; we're playing together as a group and that's made a difference."

Grandview -- the first 2A team ever to win the Spokane Crossover Tournament -- still is plenty dangerous as it sits in the opposite bracket from Pullman and Selah. The Greyhounds (30-1 overall) have a great setter in Chante Bottineau and get plenty of kills from outside hitter Kealey Johnston.

"We have the same starting lineup from last year -- just older," Grandview coach John LaFever said. "It's kind of an advantage they've all been there before."

The biggest question to be answered at the tournament, especially with all the unfamiliar faces, is where will the upsets come from?

There are plenty of dangerous teams in the top bracket waiting to trip up Grandview. Riverside, the Greyhounds' first-round opponent, has a strong middle blocker at the net with 6-foot-1 Kayla Newberg.

Then there is a potential second-round matchup with third-ranked Burlington-Edison, and No. 6 Ellensburg or No. 5 R.A. Long might be in the semifinals.

Both Ellensburg and R.A. Long have dangerous front rows. The Bulldogs fell to Selah in the championship game of the Class 3A tournament last year and are led by the imposing 6-foot-3 Kayla Standish. The Lumberjills, who went 0-2 at the 3A tourney last year, have a strong front line behind middle blocker Shyra Hoffman and outside hitter Alyssa Wistrick. Still, R.A. Long coach Jennifer Godinho realizes many teams will be making adjustments on the fly because of all the unfamiliarity.

"The hardest thing is playing in the SunDome," Godinho said. "We haven't been over there and we don't know what to expect from the surroundings and the environment. It's tough to get the team ready for that."