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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 2019)
A8 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2019 Herald Sports Follow sports on Twitter @HHeraldSports A SOLID FOUNDATION Hermiston’s Kendall Dowdy has been named the All-East Oregonian Volleyball Player of the Year. Clark-Gammell earns Frontier Conference honors at DE By ANNIE FOWLER STAFF WRITER College of Idaho senior defensive end and former Hermiston player Landon Clark-Gammell earned Frontier Conference second-team hon- ors, joining 15 teammates on the all-conference team. “It really means a lot,” said Clark-Gammell, a 2015 Herm- iston High School graduate. “It’s a huge deal; there are some ballers in this league. It’s nice to be recognized by the coaches.” Clark-Gammell fi nished his fi nal season with the Yotes with 50 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. Coyotes quarterback Dari- us-James Peterson was named the Offensive Player of the Year, while College of Idaho’s Mike Moroski was named Coach of the Year. C of I had seven players named to the fi rst team, and nine to the second team. Clark-Gammell was disap- pointed fellow Hermiston grad and Yotes receiver Keegan Crafton did not get recognized. “I was surprised,” he said. “I thought he’d be on there some- where, for sure.” The Yotes (11-1), saw their 17-game win streak come to an end in the NAIA Football Cham- pionship quarterfi nals Saturday against Grand View (13-0) in Des Moines, Iowa. The Vikings beat the Yotes 14-6. Hermiston’s Stubbs, Dowdy earn MCC honors By ANNIE FOWLER STAFF WRITER Staff photo by Ben Lonergan Hermiston setter Kendall Dowdy is a leader on the court By ANNIE FOWLER STAFF WRITER H ERMISTON — Every team needs a player who creates a foundation on which to build upon. At Hermiston, that player is Kendall Dowdy. The versatile junior is the Bulldogs’ main setter, but she also hits, has a wicked serve, goes after every ball on serve receive like a libero, and is a leader on the court. It’s those traits that earned Dowdy the East Oregonian All-Area Volleyball Player of the Year honor. “When I took over this program her freshman year, she was the best gift I could have been given,” Hermiston coach Amy Dyck said. “She works hard to get better at her position every day, and holds herself to a higher standard. That helps to shape what this program stands for.” Over the course of 18 matches, Dowdy had 293 assists, 93 kills, 167 digs and 32 ace serves. She earned honorable mention honors as setter in the highly competitive Mid-Columbia Conference. “She is defi nitely one of the integral parts on the court,” Dyck said. “She is a 6-1 (offense) setter who can attack at the level she does. She makes everyone’s job easier. Seriously, without Kendall on the court, we still have really good players, but not the players we have.” Dowdy, who runs more on the shy side off the court, said she was humbled by the honor. “It was defi nitely a surprise,” she said. “But I feel I earned it. I worked my butt off the past three years. This made my year. It inspires me to do better next year.” Dowdy is joined on the fi rst team by teammate Halee Stubbs, Tresslyn McCurry of Ione/Arlington, Zuri Reeser of Stan- fi eld, Jesse Manning of Weston-McEwen, Sydney Wilson of Heppner, and Makenna Collins of Irrigon. Stanfi eld’s Blaine Ganvoa was named Coach of the Year. He led the Tigers to a 19-9 record, and a berth to the 2A state tournament for the fi rst time since 1990. Youth movement After skipping the fourth grade, Dowdy ALL-EO VOLLEYBALL TEAM Player of the Year: Kendall Dowdy, jr., Hermiston Coach of the Year: Blaine Ganvoa, Stanfi eld First Team Kendall Dowdy, jr., Hermiston; Halee Stubbs, sr., Hermiston; Tresslyn McCurry, sr., Ione/Arlington; Zuri Reeser, fr., Stan- fi eld; Jesse Manning, jr., Weston-McE- wen; Sydney Wilson, jr., Heppner; Makenna Collins, jr., Irrigon. Second Team Emma Olson, sr., Weston-McEwen; Hailey White, sr., Irrigon; Tylene Skillman, sr., Echo; Grace Vertrees, so., Hermiston; Brooke Howland, jr., Stanfi eld; Savan- nah Sharp, sr., Stanfi eld; Zoe Jones, sr., Pendleton. was 13 years old when she fi rst stepped on the court for the Bulldogs, but Dyck instantly knew she was a keeper. “At tryouts her freshman year, she wasn’t even trying out for setter, but once I saw her play pepper, I thought I hit the jackpot,” Dyck said. “When you have a freshman that good, and have players to build around her, you can’t ask for more. She genuinely doesn’t believe how good she is. She is selfl ess, humble and giving, and that translates to setting. She is a way better high school setter than I ever was. She has calmness and composure on the court I never had.” Dyck played college volleyball at Ari- zona, and was the Wildcats’ starting setter for two years. As good as she is at setting, Dowdy is just as dangerous at the service line. “When she steps back to the service line, we know she will rattle off points,” Dyck said. “She also has one of the hard- est serves I have tried to pass. I won’t do it anymore.” The bonus of playing varsity ball at such a young age is Dowdy has had the advantage of playing with, and learning from, players like Breena Wadekamper, Sophia Streeter, Ireland McDonough and Stubbs. “Because she was so young setting for us on varsity, these players have truly been her sisters and shaped her to who she is,” Dyck said. “At least once a week in practice, she would do something, and we would wonder how she did that. When she turns off that 16-year-old girl in her head and plays, it is amazing.” Stubbs has played with Dowdy the past three years, and loves her competi- tive edge. “Kendall is one of my favorite people to play with because she is competitive and makes you a better player,” Stubbs said. “I’ve always seen Kendall as a leader — someone to look to when we need to know what to do. She keeps us ready.” Dowdy appreciates the help she has gotten over the years. “Some of the players realized how good I could be and brought me out of my shell,” she said. “They taught me how to be a leader. My favorite part is seeing other girls succeed. If I have a good set and they get a kill, I love that.” Dowdy, who moved to Hermiston from Heppner in middle school, is good friends with Wilson. They were dominant together when they were younger, but the move was good for Dowdy’s game. “I wouldn’t be the player I am,” Dowdy said of the move. “Now that we are in the Washington league (MCC), there are really good players. It keeps pushing me to be better. I just want to be the best leader and teammate I can be, and hold people accountable.” Three-sport athlete Dowdy also plays basketball, and throws shot put and discus for the track team. She threw a personal best of 39 feet, 11¾ inches in the shot put at the MCC Championships, and just missed out on a trip to state in the shot put, fi nishing fourth at regionals. It was her fi rst year participat- ing in track. “Apparently, I’m pretty good at track,” she said. “The track program is really wel- coming, so I thought I’d try.” Basketball and volleyball are a tie in terms of which she likes best. “I love volleyball,” she said. “I also hate to losing. That makes me come back the next day and work harder.” After being shut out of the honors last year, two Hermis- ton players were named to the Mid-Columbia Conference vol- leyball team. Senior libero Halee Stubbs was named to the second team, while junior setter Kendall Dowdy landed on the honorable mention team. “It defi nitely feels good to see our girls get recogni- tion in the league,” Hermis- ton coach Amy Dyck said. “It’s nice to have the support of other coaches to recognize the work our girls have put in.” Stubbs had 242 digs to lead the Bulldogs. Dowdy fi nished the season with 293 assists, 167 digs, 93 kills and 32 ace serves. Walla Walla senior middle hitter Hannah Hair was named the MCC Player of the Year, while Richland’s Bob Raidl was named coach of the year. It’s the second year in a row a Walla Walla player has earned MVP honors. Last year, it was Noelani Helm. The Bulldogs fi nished 5-9 in MCC play and earned a trip to the District 8 tournament. They fell two wins shy of making the 3A state tournament. MID-COLUMBIA CONFERENCE VOLLEYBALL First Team: Hannah Hair, sr., Walla Walla; Marin Mackey, jr., Richland; Sage Brustad, sr., Richland; Sianna Iverson, sr., Chiawana; Kylie Thorne, sr., Chiawana; Payton Peders- en, jr., Richland; Madeline Gebers, jr., Kennewick; Ryan White, jr., Richland. Second Team: Grace Morby, jr., Kennewick; Brooke Thorne, jr., Chiawana; Autumn Larson, so., Kennewick; Taryn Vrieling, so., Kamiakin; Delaney Frame, sr., Kamiakin; Brooklyn Ford, sr., Kamiakin; Angela Sullivan, sr., Chiawana; Halee Stubbs, sr., Hermiston. Honorable Mention: Anya Solferino, sr., Richland; Hailey Daves, sr., Richland; Monica Miller, sr., Walla Walla; Jordann Missett, jr., Southridge; Kendall Dowdy, jr., Hermiston; Abigail Bonnington, jr., Chiawana; Graysen Banta, jr., Kamiakin; Mya Wood, so., Walla Walla.
