Headed to Portland

We just got back from Northern Arizona last Sunday. It was a really fun trip... I think one of the reasons I like the trip is the same reason that it wears us out so badly. We fly into Phoenix, then drive the 2 1/2 hours to Flagstaff...then have to drive back on Sunday morning. It is a lot of travel time within 36 hours. We all really like the van rides though. Each van has its own little subculture.



The match at NAU went well. We dropped game two to them. Credit their feisty defense. They are always tough at home (have you picked up a pattern this year...?), but we found a way to overpower them in the last two sets.



The week before last we played Eastern Washington and Portland State at home. Eastern was the only conference team to beat us last year on our home floor. That wasn't going to happen this year though. The girls were fired up and took care of business in three. Portland State was a tougher match. They were the only conference team we hadn't beat this year and the match was for the conference title. We dropped the first set, won two and three, then dropped the fourth and fifth sets. It was a tough loss for us. Yet, it is all part of the deal. We need to learn how to play with that kind of pressure on us. While we played fairly well, we really didn't play at a championship level. Portland State is a very talented team. They have several legit weapons. I do think that there are a few things that we can clean up and we can take them in the conference tournament.



Speaking of the tournament, we leave Thursday morning. No Thanksgiving at home this year (or next...). That is ok though. Our team really is our second family, so we don't feel too bad about it. We will travel, practice and have a "dessert banquet" Thursday, then have a practice Friday morning around 11. We will be playing Idaho State on Friday around 5:30. If we win that one, we will play the winner of Portland State and Montana on Saturday night. Whoever wins that match will move onto the NCAA tournament. All the work, all the time, all the effort that we put in all year comes down to taking care of business this coming weekend. Should be a lot of fun!



Well, wish us luck! Hopefully we won't get caught in airport security! That would not be good... I am sure we will be fine though. Have a great Thanksgiving...I know we will!

Everyday...something new...

Wow, this was a good weekend to be a part of Bear's volleyball. We headed to Montana this past weekend to play both Montana and Montana State. For some reason, we have always struggled playing Montana at their place. In the five years we have been in the conference, we have never beat them there... Our girls were fired up to play them; but in a more business-like way this time. We struggled through the first few points, but then turned it on to beat them in three. It honestly was a little anti-climactic. We are not complaining though. We will take the win.

We then drove to Montana State on Saturday morning (more on that in a minute). We have had some solid success in Bozeman, but we also knew that Montana State is solid at home. They put up a great fight and it went four, but we ended up taking the match. I love their crowd. They always have a bunch of people there that are cheering for their team, even when they may be struggling. Great place for volleyball.

Even though we have had a tough go of it in Montana in the past, our girls still love this trip because of the food! Both towns have Mackenzie River Pizza Co restaurants in them and it is a favorite. Also, we usually go to Famous Daves after our Montana State match... This year was no exception. The picture below is Amanda Arterburn falling asleep at the table after our second match of the weekend.... she was tuckered out.

As I mentioned before, we drove from Missoula to Bozeman on Saturday morning. I love the drive because it is beautiful country. The girls usually fall asleep for a while, then pick up the conversation once we get closer to our destination. This year, they decided to play a little game called "Hey Cow!" Julie Stephenson introduced the game to them and Tom's van decided to try it out. The game consists of finding cows as you drive down the interstate, then rolling down your window and yelling "Hey Cow!" at them as you speed by. If the cow looks up, you earn points. The more cows that look, the more points you get. This is a quick look at the game recorded on Tom's phone...

Our girls are silly....and we love it.

Two more wins at home

Wow... So we tied another school record the other night...one mark that we wish we didn't get to. We played four five-set matches in a row dating back to our match against Portland State. Three weeks of five-gamers about killed me! We came out of it 3-1 which is pretty great considering that three of them were on the road, and the last one we were down 2 games to none!

Speaking of that match, Idaho State came in to play us last Thursday night.... And they came to play! They were very very good in the first two sets. We just couldn't get a ball to go down. There were frustrating two of the best hitters in the conference (Ashley and Kelley). Luckily for the rest of our team, Julie and Brittany really stepped up. Julie had a career high 17 kills and Brit added 12 of her own. Both hit in the .300's. As the match wore on, both Kelley and Ash found ways to start scoring and that put the Bangles on their heals. We came out in game three a little slow, but then decided it was time to take care of business. As the game wore on it became apparent that the Bears refused to lose the match. We worked hard and efficiently to win the match in 5. Again, credit Idaho State for some amazing defensive plays.

This marked the second time this season that we dropped the first two sets to Idaho State, then proceeded to win the match in five. We did the same at their place in September. It is like our girls need to feel that pressure before then come out and get after it... The good news is...they find ways to win. It may not always be pretty, but they find a way.

Saturday night was senior night. We had it a couple of weeks early because Ashley's mom would not have been able to make it if we had it during our last home match. It was a great night for her to be there too. Ashley got 16 kills and hit .609 on the night, which included her 1000th career kill as a Bear...only the 14th player ever to reach that mark. Abbie Howe, another senior, also had a great night posting a career high 14 digs. Our last senior, Julie Stephenson continued her great play hitting over .300 for the second night.

Ashley's 1000th kill

We had a little banquet after the match which was fun. But...it didn't quite have that senior night feel. There were several speeches, thank yous, and cards being handed around...but not a whole lot of tears. I think it is because we all know that we have a lot of work to do before we accomplish our goals. Keep an eye out...it is a great time to be a BEAR!