West Tops East In Volleyball But Davenport Connection Looks Good In All-Star Match Loss

The combination was all too familiar.

How many times had Davenport’s Andee Marriott set up teammate Jennifer Stinson? In four years of basketball and volleyball together, the two lost track a long time ago.

They were back at it again for one last hurrah in the East vs. West Class A/B 1995 Washington State Mizuno All State High School Volleyball Series at North Central Thursday.

The West won the match 15-5, 5-15, 12-15, 15-2, 15-8, but in the short time, one did get a glimpse of the chemistry that existed between the two players who played together on two state championship teams in volleyball and basketball.

Marriott, from the setter position, led her East team with 25 assists, while Stinson led the team with 17 kills, 16 digs and two blocks in the loss.

Stinson and Marriott have spent a lot of time with each other. And though Stinson is on her way to continuing her volleyball career at Washington State and Marriott will be playing basketball at Big Bend Community College, it’s a pretty safe bet there will still be some good memories down the road.

“Wow - I guess it is the last time I’ll be playing organized sports with Jennifer,” Marriott said. “It seems like we’re together a lot. I know we’ll probably be together a lot in years to come.”

So on a sweltering summer day in the middle of July, with probably a lot more exciting activities going on in town for soon-to-be college freshman, Stinson and Marriott did what they could to keep the East in the match. However, the West had just a little more firepower.

Even though the Washington State Mizuno All-Star Classic is the only all-star game played in the state for volleyball players, there is always the risk of injury for its participants.

So with most of these athletes going on to athletic careers, why jeopardize the future?

“Because they asked me to play,” Marriott said.

As for Stinson, she had been participating in a Washington State volleyball camp all week long. She drove from Pullman to Spokane for three days to practice with this all-star team.

“It’s an honor and a once-in-a-lifetime experience to play with this kind of competition,” Stinson said. “The running around was well worth it.

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