Tough competition at the net

Here’s the thing you have to remember about the Greater Spokane League and the sport of volleyball: Being good isn’t always good enough.

The GSL is to volleyball what Bill Russell and the Boston Celtics were to the NBA.

Not only has Mead High School won the past five consecutive state championships, they’ve beaten Lewis and Clark in the championship match in each of the past two finals. Last year three of the top five teams in the state were from the GSL (Shadle Park placed fifth) and the only reason more league teams weren’t in the hunt for hardware was because it is allowed just three state berths.

When the Panthers return Alexis Olegard – a 6-foot-5, All-State first team player who, just a junior, already has committed to play collegiate volleyball at the University of Southern California – you can expect them to once again vie for a state title. And when the Tigers return an All-State second-teamer, Oceana Bush, you can figure they’ll be in that same hunt once again.

“It’s insane how good you have to be to be competitive in this league,” Central Valley coach Chad Coupland said. “You simply cannot afford an off night in this league.

“I like to think that, if we were in any other Class 4A league in the state, that we’d be one of those teams in the hunt to win a state title.”

Tough as the GSL is, however, Coupland is happy to be part of it all.

“When I was hired at CV, my job was to make the program competitive and I think we’ve done that,” he said. “I honestly cannot see myself coaching anywhere else.”

The GSL does shift slightly this season. The Class 3A division of the league expands as both Shadle Park and Rogers drop down to battle Mt. Spokane, North Central and East Valley.

Because of that, the road to state is severely restricted. Just four Class 4A teams reach the district tournament, where the challenge will be to unseat perennial powers Mead or Lewis and Clark for a state berth: only two GSL teams can advance to regionals to vie for state berths.

That means several teams capable of earning hardware at the state tournament will be left watching from the sidelines.

Central Valley Bears

The Bears went almost a week between practices as the season got under way last weekend.

“We played the jamboree on Friday, we played in the tournament and won down at Freeman Saturday, had a day off Sunday, then came right back and played at Sandpoint (Monday) and against Gonzaga Prep (Tuesday),” Coupland said. “Right now, we’re tired and we’re a little banged up. But that’s good for right now.”

Central Valley graduated just three seniors off last year’s club and boasts who Coupland considers the league’s top returning setter in junior Shannon Giusti.

“She does a wonderful job and she has everyone’s respect,” the coach said. “The freshmen just marvel at the things she can do on the court.”

While the Bears do have a six-footer in senior right-side hitter Ashley VanCurler, they don’t have the conspicuous size some in the GSL possess.

“We don’t have a 6-4, 6-5 player in the middle the way Mead does,” Coupland said. “We have a bunch of mid-sized players who just scrap and dig and occasionally take a ball off their head.

“The key for us is to have fun. When these girls are out there having fun and making plays, they can be very good. When they aren’t having fun, then we’re in trouble. Right now, they’re enjoying playing together.”

East Valley Knights

Last year’s GSL coach of the year, Jim Dorr, took a relaxed approach to summer volleyball this year.

“I think that you can sometimes play too much volleyball,” he explained. “We took some time off this summer and I think everyone has come into the start of practice fresh and ready to go. They may be a little rusty, but we’re taking care of that.”

You can do that when you have a veteran squad coming back after a competitive season that saw them finish just one game away from reaching the state Class 3A tournament.

The Knights lose just two seniors, one of them a starter, from a year ago.

Starting middle blockers Amanda Hiebert and Brie Schau, both 5-10, return for their senior season, as do starting outside hitters Justine Simpson (5-8) and Allie Riggin (5-10), and setter Kelsey Kurtz.

Also back is the team’s top sub, senior Desi Rainey, who fills in all over the court.

Simpson, a second-team All-GSL pick a year ago, spent part of her summer at the Olympic Development camp in Lake Placid, N.Y.

“The great thing about this group is that they all get along so well,” Dorr said. “In fact, they sometimes get so involved in finding things that they can do together as a team that I have to remind them that we do still play volleyball.

“They care about one another. Amanda Hiebert came to me the other day and said ‘You know, Justine is thinking about playing at Western Washington University. Maybe we should play in their tournament so they can see her.’ That’s the kind of unselfish attitude these girls bring.”

University Titans

Coach Mark Weiss led the Titans to within a game of the state Class 4A tournament in his first season as head coach, posting a 6-4 league record, 11-8 overall.

Year two requires some retooling.

As the coach is fond of saying, this year’s team has three potential downfalls: inexperience, inexperience and inexperience.

“We graduated eight seniors from last year’s team,” Weiss said. “There’s no way around it, we’re going to be in a rebuilding mode.”

That’s not to say the cupboard is bare. The Titans have athletes to work with.

“We do,” the coach said. “We just don’t have a lot of experience to work with, and in this league you need that. It can be pretty easy for young players to get that ‘deer-caught-in-the-headlights look.’ ”

U-Hi will build around two new, young setters this season, sisters Ashley and Jessica Moon – a junior and sophomore, respectively – who like to be called “The Setting Moons.”

Also in the starting lineup at “Two Moon Junction” will be middle blocker Emilee Toft, the lone senior starter this season, and junior Chenise Pakootas, a powerful, 5-10 outside hitter from the left side who must assume a big role in the Titans’ offense if the team is to challenge.

Senior team captain Amy Hallett, who sparks the defense as both a defensive specialist and libero, will provide solid team leadership.

West Valley Eagles

The Eagles reached the state Class 2A tournament a year ago and brought home the trophy for an eighth-place finish and have a solid nucleus back.

“We talked last year about stating the tradition of expectation,” coach Drew Wendle said. “We’re very comfortable with the things that we have to do to get better. We have seven spots to move up.”

Gone is leaper Melissa Mauro, an all-Great Northern League first-team selection, but the team returns fellow first-teamer Bailey Wold and her sister, the league’s most valuable player, Alyssa, for their junior and senior seasons, respectively.

The Eagles all played club volleyball over the summer, and Wendle figures six competed in the gigantic volleyball festival in Reno while Shaniqua Nilles went to the national Junior Olympics with her club team.

“A lot of our girls are out doing the right things to make themselves better,” the coach said. “We have a huge freshman class coming in. Usually I’m happy with getting, maybe 15 freshmen out. This year I got 25. Fortunately we are able to have four teams, so we can keep everybody.”

Alyssa Wold runs the offense as a four-year starter at setter. Bailey Wold and senior Luryn Abrahamson return as outside hitters. Nilles returns as a middle hitter while freshman Latasha Lofton will step into the starting lineup to join her.

Also back from last year is sophomore Mallorie Schoessler, a defensive specialist and libero.

Freeman Scotties

The word second-year head coach Eva Windlin-Jansen uses to describe her squad is inexperienced.

“We have good depth at every position,” the former Gonzaga University coach said. “We have a good group of seniors, but we have them playing in different positions from what they are used to.”

Senior Carley Heinen, a four-year letter winner, moves from the middle to play outside hitter. Leah Willard, a three-year member of the varsity, also makes the shift from middle to outside, where the Scotties will rely on her energy.

Lyndsey Ruland was last year’s libero, but shifts to outside hitter while defensive specialist Hannah Lamon moves in to take over as setter replacing the graduated Bree Riddle, a first-team All-Northeast A League setter a year ago and a three-year starter at that position.

“When you lose a player with that much experience at that position, it’s difficult,” Windlin-Jansen said. “But that will smooth out. We have a good group of young players, but they don’t have experience playing at this level.”

The NEA loses four-time state champion Colfax, which drops down to compete in the Bi-County League in volleyball, but Windlin-Jansen doesn’t see the league getting any easier.

“Colfax is gone, but this is still one of the toughest Class 1A leagues in the state,” she said. “And we still keep them on our schedule for home-and-home games. You really want to keep quality opponents on your schedule – I would much rather play a really tough team and lose a match early in the season than to play someone easy and win. You learn much more.

“What’s important is how you’re playing in November, and playing teams like that makes you get better.”