A milestone for Matlock
Back when Irene Matlock first took over the Community Colleges of Spokane women’s volleyball program, she considered it little more than a whistle stop; a career move that would establish her as a college coach and lead, perhaps, to a Division I job.
“I figured I’d stay three or four years and move on,” Matlock confessed.
That was a little over 18 years ago.
Today, Matlock remains the volleyball coach at CCS, where she is closing in on win No. 700, which should come this weekend when the Sasquatch (11-9 overall, 4-0 in the Eastern Region of the NWAACC) play host to the Spokane Crossover Tournament.
“I’m not sure exactly what that says,” Matlock said when asked about the milestone. “That I’m old, maybe?”
Actually, Matlock’s 698-240 record at CCS speaks volumes to a variety of issues, not the least of which is her own coaching talent.
“I think it’s a real milestone for Irene and our volleyball program,” said CCS athletic director Maury Ray. “And probably for women’s athletics, in general, at least at our level. She’s really taken our program to the level we’ve always wanted it to be, and I feel great about what’s she’s been able to accomplish.”
In her 18-plus seasons at CCS, Matlock has won three NWAACC championships while leading the Sasquatch to the conference tournament each year. She was voted AVCA national coach of the year in 1994, when her team finished 43-8, and has been named NWAACC Eastern Region coach of the year eight times.
“At our level, you only have the players a couple of years, so you do a lot of teaching along with your coaching,” Ray explained. “Irene has done a great job with the teaching part – fundamentals and conditioning – as well as the coaching, and that’s had a lot to do with how well our volleyball program has done.
“She’s a real taskmaster and demands a lot from her players, but they respect her and learn from it.”’
Matlock came to CCS after leading Sandpoint High School to four Idaho state championships and a 101-8 record. She has also spent the past 20 years coaching and developing club teams in the area.
“She’s had a chance to go to other jobs and do other things,” Ray added. “But she’s kind of looked at our program as one she could mold into her own. (The 700-win milestone) is a tribute not only to her coaching ability but to her longevity and willingness to stay with it after a lot of people would have burned out.”
Matlock is hard-pressed to pick out her own favorite moment, player or team.
“After 19 seasons, there’s plenty to pick from,” she said. “But after a while, all the years start running together.”
Still, she does admit a certain fondness for the 1988 NWAACC championship team that went 54-2.
“Those young ladies were something else,” Matlock said. “We won every tournament we went to and then went on to win the conference tournament. It’s still a record (for wins). It was one of those teams that did everything right.”
Ray said the school is preparing a small celebration for Matlock on the night she reaches 700 wins, with a bigger event planned at the end of the season.
CCS officials hope to have some of Matlock’s former players in attendance when she reaches 700. They might need to get them on board in hurry, considering the Sasquatch will play at least five matches in this weekend’s crossover tournament, which will feature competition Friday and Saturday at Spokane Community College and Spokane Falls Community College.
Eagles march home
Following last weekend’s 3-0 win at Portland State in the Big Sky opener for both teams, Eastern Washington returns to Reese Court to continue league play this week.
The Eagles (6-5 overall, 1-0 Big Sky) entertain Weber State (2-11, 1-1) on Thursday and Idaho State (6-10, 2-0) on Saturday. Both matches start at 7 p.m., and coach Wade Benson is making sure his young team understands the importance of a good start in league play.
Weber State has struggled early, but Idaho State was picked to finish second in the Big Sky in a preseason poll of league coaches – which did not surprise Benson.
“They are very good, especially after coming away with a win over Montana,” he said of the Bengals. “This weekend’s match will be a good early season showdown.”
Cougs limp home
The road gets a bit easier for Washington State, and not simply because it leads back to Pullman.
After opening Pac-10 play with back-to-back losses to nationally ranked USC and UCLA in Los Angeles last weekend, the Cougars (3-11 overall, 0-2 Pac-10) return to Bohler Gym for league games against unranked Oregon State (7-3, 1-0) on Friday and unranked Oregon (6-4, 0-1) on Saturday.
Both matches start at 7 p.m., and first-year coach Brian Heffernan’s Cougars hope to stop an early season skid that saw them lose their first five matches and their last five in a row.
Quick sets
Whitworth (10-2 overall, 3-1 Northwest Conference), coming off its first win over Lewis & Clark since 1991, will try to maintain its share of the NWC lead when it travels to Tacoma to take on Puget Sound (2-10, 1-3) on Friday and Pacific Lutheran (4-6, 3-1) on Saturday… . When Gonzaga knocked off Idaho State 3-0 in the ISU Volleyball Classic in Pocatello earlier this year, it marked the first – and only – time the Bulldogs have swept an opponent… The Bulldogs continue to get major contributions from a trio of freshmen that include middle blocker Briawna Mueller (1.28 blocks per game), outside hitter Becky Jones (1.95 kills, 2.53 digs) and backrow player Alecia Douglas (11 service aces)… . Idaho’s next two road foes, UC Irvine and Long Beach State, are a combined 15-0 at home this season… . Heading into Monday night’s match against Gonzaga, UI was leading the Big West Conference with an average of 18.82 digs per game. Vandals setter Mandy Becker ranked second in the league in assists (12.93) and ninth in digs (3.87)… . San Francisco junior middle blocker KeLicia Shorts from Mead is the West Coast Conference player of the week after earning tournament MVP honors as the Dons swept through the TCU Molten Invitational. She averaged 3.86 kills on a .535 hitting percentage for the week.