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Tigers
trounced 29-6 Friday by Celtics
George Fox
squad could be a factor in NWC race
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Bucks eye shot at state tournament |
St. Paul returns several players from a team that
barely missed qualifying for state last year |
By B. Scott
Anderson, Newberg
Graphic reporter
E-mail Scott at
banderson@eaglenewspapers.com
|
Several things are the same for the
St. Paul High School volleyball team this season. Several are also
different.
The Bucks return a cache of players. They play in a league with new
teams. They’ve lost their head coach and an assistant coached has
stepped in.
Despite all the differences, the thing that essentially remains the
same is the Bucks’ core players. St. Paul lost a pair of seniors
from the team that was a game away from qualifying for the state
tournament last year.
Head coach Cecil Williams resigned during the offseason. Shannon
Court, who served as Williams’ assistant for the past two seasons,
takes over. Even though Williams isn’t around anymore, not much has
changed for St. Paul during its practices heading into the first
action of the year today (Saturday) at a jamboree at Dufur.
“The transition has been great because I’m not coming in not
knowing the girls or not knowing what they’re capable of and so I
can keep really high expectations of them,” Court said.
Expectations are high for the Bucks, who return sophomores Julie
Drescher (setter) and Katlyn McKillip (middle blocker), juniors
Brittani Brown (middle blocker), Janelle Drescher (middle blocker)
and Michelle Wilson (outside hitter), along with seniors April
Ackerman (setter), Erika Wilmes (outside hitter) and Katelin
Davidson (middle blocker). All saw significant time last season.
“We have so many returners that they can pick it up pretty quickly
and they have a great, positive attitude about the season,” Court
said. “We’re so young. It’s great. (Wilson, Wilmes and Julie
Drescher) are going to have really a great season, I think.
Hopefully they get recognized for it because they’ve put in a lot of
effort and a lot of work. So have the other girls, but those three
especially.”
During the league season, St. Paul will have to contend with some
teams it knows and some teams it doesn’t. One team that it hasn’t
seen on a regular basis is the Jewell Bluejays. Jewell, a team in
the Casco League North last season, didn’t move into the new Valley
10 Conference like some of its North counterparts — Columbia
Christian, Damascus Christian, Life Christian, North Clackamas
Christian, Portland Waldorf and Southwest Christian. The Bluejays
stayed in Casco League, which is no longer divided into two
divisions and only has eight teams — St. Paul, C.S. Lewis Academy,
Country Christian, Falls City, Oregon School for the Deaf, Perrydale
and Willamette Valley Christian.
Court said she expects Jewell, a team that knocked St. Paul out of
the district tournament last season, to be one of the better teams
in the league.
“It will be interesting to play them, but Perrydale will also give
us a run for our money,” Court said.
The Bucks look to be one of the better teams in the league and have
a viable shot at qualifying for the state tournament, Court said.
“I think that’s a very realistic goal,” she said. “We’ve made it to
districts and the two years I’ve been with them, we’ve missed
(qualifying for the state tournament) by one game and so it’s a very
realistic possibility this year.”
Court said in order to qualify for state, the Bucks will have to do
three things — keep their team unity, stay positive and work
together.
“Because we have the talent to do (qualify for state), definitely,”
Court said.
The first action of the season kicks off today when St. Paul makes
the long trek to Dufur for a jamboree that includes teams from Dufur,
Echo, Wallowa, Crane, Cove, Joseph, Ione and South Wasco County.
“There are a lot of the same teams that will be there that are
there every year, so we will be able to compare and that will be a
nice thing,” Court said. “We are going to treat it a little bit
different than a tournament because it is a jamboree. We’ll be
taking 11 girls and they’re all going to get playing time. I’ll be
mixing in some JV players with some varsity players, which isn’t
something I’m going to do during normal league play. Everybody will
get some time and the girls will get the chance to show me what they
can do under some pressure.”
The first match of the Casco League season is at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday
when the Bucks host Perrydale. |
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From
Sept. 2, 2006, Newberg Graphic
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