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Timberwolves eke past past the
Tigers 7-6
Tigers fall to 0-3 with loss to
Aloha
NHS teams roll over Barlow, gear up
for Lakers
Former NHS runner earns honors at
PSU
NHS kicks off season with big
finishes
GFU's three-game win streak snapped
by Boxers, 3-1
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Calendar
Panthers
finally take
court; dispose of CSLA |
Open Bible seeks to make a name for itself after missing
the playoffs last season |
By B. Scott Anderson, Newberg
Graphic sports editor
E-mail Scott at banderson@eaglenewspapers.com
|
With one game already in the bag, the future is looking
bright for the Open Bible Christian School volleyball team.
The Panthers, who finished fifth in the Casco League and didn’t qualify
for the playoffs last season, defeated visitor C.S. Lewis Academy in its season-opener
Thursday, 25-14, 25-16, 25-23.
The win was a historic one for the Panthers because it was the first match
they played on the gym’s new court. Open Bible formerly played on its
gymnasium’s carpeted surface.
“We finally got our home court after waiting for so long,” said a
relieved Open Bible coach Olivia Pothoff.
Despite the loss, C.S. Lewis Academy coach Katie Alikin was happy with her team’s
performance.
“We played amazing,” she said. “The girls didn’t win a
single game last year and since I wasn’t here last year, they seemed to struggle,
from what I’ve heard. But from what I’ve seen from the beginning of the season
to now, they’ve come such a long way and they really hung in there tonight.”
The Panthers and Pothoff are excited for the season. The team is led by
senior Shannon Wright, a second-team all-conference selection last season, and senior
Kendra Phillips who was an honorable mention selection last season.
“Those are our two girls who we’re going to rely on,” Pothoff
said.
With a talented crop of upperclassmen, Pothoff said this season is one she has
waited for.
“We’ve come a long way in the last four years,” she said.
“I feel like we’ve got our program off of its feet and for the seniors I know
they want to go out with a bang and make it their best year. Now that we have every thing
in place, I think we’ve got all the factors to do well.”
The first step is making the Casco League playoffs, a feat the Panthers could
pull off.
“We want to make a name for ourselves in the Casco League and for people
not to think of us as a Podunk Christian school that is going to be easy,” Pothoff
said. “We’ve been really practicing on not only improving our fundamentals but
really improving our mental game.”
The mental aspect of sports, especially in Class 1A volleyball, is as nearly
critical as the physical portion of the game. Pothoff said she thinks the Panthers can
overcome that.
“Last year we had a problem with confidence,” she said. “We
would see a good team warming up and it would be too intimidating. So this year, I feel
like we’re overcoming that. They’re getting their confidence and the mental game
is catching up. We want to have our mental game match or exceed our physical game.”
According to Pothoff, if the Panthers are going to get to the playoffs, they
must get by Perrydale and St. Paul.
“They’re established for many years,” she said. “Those
are the two games that we’re really wanting to play really well in.”
For the Watchmen, Thursday’s match was their first loss of the season.
C.S. Lewis, which boasts a team of five freshmen, three sophomores and a senior, defeated
Columbia Adventist on Monday for its first win in two years. Alikin didn’t mince
words on how starting out the season with a win effected the team.
“It’s huge because they haven’t won in two years,” she
said.
Like Pothoff, Alikin wants the Watchmen to be competitive. She said the only way the
Watchmen are going to be successful is to come together.
“They’re such a young team and they’re all new,” she
said. “They just need to get out there and keep doing it.” |
|
From Sept. 18,
2004, Newberg Graphic
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