Sunday briefs
Alexis Olgard, the former Mead High and USC star, has taken her spiking and digging to Manila, Philippines, for her second professional volleyball season.
After playing for VT Aurubis in Hamburg, Germany, last year, Olgard was recruited by the Phillips Gold Lady Slammers in Manila.
The Tiebreaker Times, which chronicles Phillipine sports news, said of the 6-foot-5 Olgard, her “competitive edge and veteran savvy immediately gives the Lady Slammers a massive upgrade at their middle blocker slot.”
“I am a quiet but effective player. I am extremely competitive and hate to lose. So with that being said, I will play as hard as I can to get us where we want to be as a team,” Olgard said in an interview with Tiebreaker Times.
“As a middle blocker I would say my height helps me a lot with blocking as well as hitting. I am able to occupy a lot of area when blocking and I can easily hit over people. I would also say I am a focused and calm player so in tight situations I am able to keep a level head and play through intense situations.”
Olgard, an All-Pac-12 selection at USC, said, “In Hamburg, I was able to help a team go from not winning one game the season prior to getting them into the playoffs.
“I am so excited to play for a volleyball-driven country. Outside of college, the U.S. doesn’t seem to recognize indoor volleyball the way other countries around the world do. I have only heard amazing things about the Philippines and it will be such an honor to play for Philips Gold and share our success as a team … (and) with our fans.”
College scene
Whitworth junior goalkeeper Timmy Costa in men’s soccer and freshman kicker Rehn Reiley in football received Northwest Conference student-athlete of the week awards for the week ending Oct. 4.
Costa, from San Jose, California, earned his fifth consecutive shutout with three saves in a 3-0 win over Pacific, then tied a season high with seven saves in a 1-1 tie at George Fox. He had a .33 goals-against average through last weekend and had allowed only three goals. Costa is the third consecutive Pirate to win the NWC weekly defensive honor.
Rehn, from Moses Lake, earned special teams honors with a performance that included 3 for 3 on field goals of 51, 46 and 26 yards in a 37-14 win over George Fox. The 51-yarder was the first 50-plus-yard field goal at Whitworth in more than 10 years. He made 2 of 3 extra points and his kickoffs were consistently inside the Bruins five-yard line.
•Chloe Williams on the soccer team and Cooper Kupp on the football team have been selected the Eastern Washington athletics department September Scholar-Athletes of the Month.
Williams, a sophomore forward from Lewis and Clark with a 3.56 grade-point average as an exercise science major, helped lead the Eagles to a 7-0 record in September, including road Big Sky Conference victories at Weber State and Idaho State. She scored in six of the matches, recording seven goals and two assists.
Kupp, a redshirt junior receiver from Yakima with a 3.52 GPA as an economics major, had a September for the record books. In four games as the Eagles went 2-2, he had 46 catches for 759 yards and 10 touchdowns. Included were Autzen Stadium records at Oregon with 15 receptions and 246 receiving yards, scoring three touchdowns, and 12 catches for 201 yards and three TDs against Montana State.
•Karl Muelheims, a senior men’s soccer forward from St. George’s, and Nicole Leonard, a senior outside hitter in volleyball from Thousand Oaks, California, are the Whitworth Bruchi’s Athletes of the Month for September.
Muelheims had seven goals, three of them winners, and three assists as the Pirates were unbeaten in eight matches last month, including going 3-0 to open Northwest Conference play.
He became the 10th player in school history to score a hat trick, netting three goals in a 9-0 win over Minnesota-Morris. Through last weekend, he led the NWC with eight goals.
Leonard, who surpassed 1,000 career kills during the month, led Whitworth to a 10-3 record and a 4-0 start in the NWC in September by posting team highs for total kills and kills per set (3.26) while hitting .216. She added 3.54 digs per set while serving 11 aces.
Golf
Reid Hatley of Hayden Lake, Idaho, after registering an upset in the first round, was eliminated in the second round of the men’s Mid-Amateur Championship last week in Vero Beach, Florida.
Hatley, who tied for 52nd in qualifying with 69-79 for 5-over 148 and was seeded 61st, knocked off fourth-seeded Brian Komline of Bridgewater, New Jersey, 2 and 1 in the round of 64. But in the next round, Hatley was ousted 3 and 1 by David Noll Jr. of Dalton, Georgia, the No. 29 seed.
Pete Williams, the former Moscow High and University of Idaho standout, after matching the fourth best score in the first round of qualifying in the 264-player field with a 71 to tie for 11th, shot 79 in the second round for 150 and missed the cut by a stroke.
On Williams’ bag was his brother Chris, a pro on the PGA Tour-Canada. Pete previously caddied for Chris in several events, including two U.S. Open Championships and the 2011 U.S. Amateur at Erin Hills, Wisconsin.
Softball
The North Idaho Softball Club earned its fifth straight top-10 finish in the Senior Softball USA World Masters Championships when it placed seventh in the 50+ AAA Division Sept. 25-Oct. 4 in Las Vegas.
North Idaho had an 8-2 record in the 68-team division, the largest in the 484-team tournament.
North Idaho players: Lee Libera, Darren Taylor, Marlin Harris, Tim Floyd, Troy Barrett, Jack Foster, Mike Callahan, Mike Reeder, Steve Turbin, Stan Darlis, Al Martin, Timm Baldwin, Don Owen, Lindy Larson and Jim Palombi.
•Steve Quaid was elected new president of the Spokane Softball Umpires Association during the group’s annual elections meeting last week, replacing Ron Snyder, who moves into the past president’s position.
Also elected were Chuck DeBruin, vice president; Carl Durr, youth director; Tammy Doffek, secretary; and Megan Madsen, at-large director. Gary Kuck is the returning adult director.
Outgoing officers are Scott Hofstee, vice president; Bobby Kuck, youth director; Brian Hall, secretary; Mike McCaskill, at-large director; and Dallas Williams, past president.
Baseball
The Spokane Indians have been nominated for Minor League Baseball’s John Henry Moss Community Service National Award for the team’s hard work and dedication to the Spokane community.
In addition, senior vice president Otto Klein was honored with the Bob Richman Award, given annually to an individual who has shown exceptional dedication and service to the Northwest League and constituent communities.
The Moss Award is presented to a minor league club for its ongoing commitment to charitable service and their support and leadership within the community and the baseball industry.
Klein initiated the Northwest League Broadcast & Technology Committee, used to raise the profile of the league and its member teams as a whole. The award was recently renamed after longtime NWL president Richman, who served for 30 years from 1982-2012.