High Expectations Young Team With Loads Of Talent Forced To Live Up To Its Reputation

Despite the yearly sea of new faces, it never gets old for Community Colleges of Spokane volleyball coach Irene Matlock.

As Matlock begins her 12th season, the challenges remain the same, but so do the expectations that are a result of her success.

“I’ve got a lot of gray hair from this job,” joked Matlock, whose team of mostly freshmen players is off to a 3-6 start heading into tonight’s conference match at Yakima.

The physical pitfalls are present, but so are the wins - 428 at season’s start, coupled with just 133 losses. This year should be no different. There’s loads of youth, a sampling of experienced sophomores, and the Sasquatch’s sterling reputation.

CCS, coming off a first-place finish (9-1) in the NWAACC Eastern Division and third place in the conference tournament, was picked in the coaches’ poll as the No. 1 team to beat in the annual November tournament. The last time it won was 1994.

“Sometimes I don’t think the other coaches are realistic in their picks,” said Matlock, who quickly added Mount Hood has five returning starters.

But consider the history. Matlock has never had a losing season. She recorded her 400th career win last September, on way to a 43-14 season. Although Jenni Rosselli, CCS’s 1996 American Volleyball Coaches Association national junior college player of the year, currently is a middle hitter at Memphis State, the talent pool remains stocked.

“We’re putting a lot of emphasis on JoEne Heimbigner this year,” said third-year assistant coach Melissa Hinojosa, a member of CCS’s 1992 NWAACC championship team.

And for good reason. Heimbigner, the 1996 Shadle Park High School valedictorian, is a 5-foot-8 sophomore setter and one of just three returning players. Hinojosa said Heimbigner chose a two-year college in an effort to strengthen her volleyball skills.

According to Matlock, the decision is paying off. In her freshman year, Heimbigner broke the conference record for most assists in a season (134), earning her NWAACC first-team honors.

“JoEne is getting more and more competitive,” Matlock said. “She picks up on things very quickly.”

Next season, Heimbigner would like to play volleyball at an Ivy League college, possibly Dartmouth. The team’s other two returners are defensive specialist Beth Madison and outside hitter Andrea Hinojosa.

Transfer students, 5-11 middle blocker Eileen Daniels and 5-10 outside hitter Kristina McAuley, are the only other athletes who bring experience. Both played at North Idaho College last year, and Daniels, a second-team all-conference player, already has worked her way into the Sasquatch’s starting lineup.

CCS also will rely on its tallest player, 6-3 freshman Gail Wright. The Randle, Wash., middle blocker is a skilled blocker and server, but for now, she’s only playing in the front row. Sabrina Page, a freshman from Central Valley, enters the rotation in the back row.

Freshmen Cydny Edmunds of Wenatchee Eastmont, Kate Antolick of Benton City, Wash., Kiona-Benton, and Shannon Nelson of North Central, fill out the starting six.

, DataTimes MEMO: These sidebars appeared with the story: CCS GLANCE Head coach: Irene Matlock (12th year) Record at CCS: 428-133 (excluding 1997) 1996 record: 43-13, (9-1 in conference’s Eastern Division) Assistant coaches: Melissa Hinojosa, Carmelia Bloom Players to watch: So. S JoEne Heimbigner. Key newcomers: Fr. S/RH Shannon Nelson; Fr. MH Gail Wright; Fr. OH Kate Antolick; Fr. OH Cydny Edmunds. Spikes and digs: This year’s NWAACC tournament will be at Bellevue Community College. Three teams from each division will qualify for the double-elimination tournament. The Sasquatch last won the conference crown in 1994. … CCS finished third at the opening-season College of Southern Idaho tournament. The Sasquatch lost to four-time defending NJCAA champion College of Southern Idaho. Outlook: The NWAACC coaches picked CCS to win the conference tournament this year. Look for Mount Hood, with its five returners, to be a top contender. Last year’s champ Clackamas is in a rebuilding year.

COMMUNITY COLLEGES OF SPOKANE VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE AND ROSTER

Sept. 5-6 at CIS Tournament third place Sept. 10 Blue Mountain W 3-0 Sept. 17 at Yakima 6 p.m. Sept. 19-20 Inland NW Tournament all day Sept. 24 vs. Columbia Basin 6 p.m. Sept. 25-27 at Valley of the Sun Tournament (Phoenix) all day Oct. 1 at Walla Walla 6 p.m. Oct. 7 at North Idaho College 7 p.m. Oct. 8 vs. Big Bend CC 6 p.m. Oct. 10-11 at Lower Columbia Crossover Tournament all day Oct. 15 at Blue Mountain 6 p.m. Oct. 22 vs. Yakima 6 p.m. Oct. 24-25 at Mt. Hood Classic all day Oct. 29 at Columbia Basin 6 p.m. Oct. 31-Nov. 1 Spokane Crossover all day Nov. 5 vs. Walla Walla 6 p.m. Nov. 11 vs. North Idaho College 6 p.m. Nov. 12 at Big Bend 6 p.m. Nov. 15 Postseason playoffs TBA Nov. 20-22 NWAACC championships at Bellevue

Note: All home matches played at SFCC. Home tournament played at SFCC and SCC.

ROSTER

Name Yr. Pos. High School Kate Antolick Fr. OH Kiona-Benton Eileen Daniels So. MH Emmett, Id. Cydny Edmunds Fr. OH Eastmont JoEne Heimbigner So. S Shadle Park Andrea Hinojosa So. OH Yakima WV Kristina McAuley So. OH/RH University Beth Madison So. DS Cheney Lescia Myers Fr. OH East Valley Shannon Nelson Fr. S/RH North Central Sabrina Page Fr. DS Central Valley Merideth Thompson Fr. MH/OH Riverside Gail Wright Fr. MH White Pass