Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
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the clackamas print 3 Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009 blleyball digs deep for playoffs I ' , »». .. All photos by John Petty Clackamas Print eft to right: Kylee Perez, Richelle Heacock, Kelli Gamble, Rachael Strong, Shikara White, Sabrina Nelson and Vanity Massey stand along the endline to a game against Chemeketa Community College. Clackamas beat Chemeketa in five games on Oct. 28. lh He Woods and romen’s volley- eam prepare for ^ost-season and to be on top of game come the tVACC champi- fps By Mark Foster I Sports Editor lb a team evenly split tn sophomores and pen, Kathie Woods and ougar volleyball team Io break out in the play- ^^^F Clackamas’ women’s volley ball team is hoping it can turn a season of ups and downs around and make a run at an NWAACC title. One thing Woods feels could be the big gest downfall of the team is their focus mentally. Woods believes that this is what the team needs to work on most; they have the physical talent but they need to anticipate what could happen next rather than just reacting. Last years’ regular season domination and NWAACC tournament run will be tough to top. Going 41-15 in regu lar season play in 2008, the Cougars finished fourth in post-season play. “Every team is different and has their individual strengths. This team is a team of great charac ter. They respect each other and work hard. They give 100 percent in school, volley- F ball and life,” said Woods. After the game against Mt. Hood Community College on Nov. 6, Woods thought her team showed what they can do against top tier teams in the conference. Though losing to MHCC, the Cougars showed promise for the near future. Shikara White, a sopho more on the team, recorded 24 kills in the game leading the team with almost half of the total kills for the game. About the game, Woods said, “After last night’s game with Mt. Hood, it regained our confidence of being able to upset many teams and making our goal to win the NWAACC championship.” Confidence is key for a team that has not performed as well as previous Cougar teams, Woods admitted, “It’s been a season of ups and downs.” Knowing their abili ties and strengths on the court will help this team go deep into the post season. She feels that this year’s team has an edge over others physically. Woods said, “Our biggest strength going into playoffs is our physical. We are very good offensively and can put up a good block.” She also was reluctant to say, though, that her team does sometimes lose their fo cus mentally and stray away from the gameplan and strat egy. Woods did come back by noting that the team is very determined and has good practice habits. After the season ends, the work does not for Woods. Losing all five sophomores along with one freshman, she agreed there will be a lot of shoes to fill come next sea son. “We are presently recruit ing and looking for the best possible people to step in and help continue the winning tra dition of Cougar Volleyball,” said Woods. “We have some great prospects and are excit ed about the future, as well as the present.” A big part of what Woods does with her recruits is not just volleyball related. She tries to help her players grow both on and off the court. “I love seeing these young ladies grow and mature as people and also as volleyball players, while having suc cess in their education,” said Woods. With the NWAACC cham pionships readily approach ing, Woods and her squad look to gain momentum and work out the kinks come game time. For a coach with a strong winning tradition, she knows the real work begins now in order for her team to be playing their best come Nov. 19. Middle blocker Caitlin Howard (13) and setter Richelle Heacock (5) get ready to serve-receive. Got hunting pho tos? Send them in or bring them by The Print office and we may use them in a future issue. , ▼ Sophomore Joanna Abraham goes up for a kill.
