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........................... Oct. 19 - Nov. 01, 2001
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| Dolphins Spike Their Way To Tournament Chanpionship | |
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They won't find mercy.
They wont' find victory.
But they will find a lot of Natalia Monteverde.
The flashing moment when Monteverde elevates herself above the other 11 players on the court and spikes the ball into a nice corner repeated itself many times last weekend, as the SCC Dolphins barged their way through the 2001 Shoreline Crossover Tournament. It was a team effort that was lead by tournament MVP Monteverde.
After tallying up a 7-0 season record so far, the number five state-ranking SCC Dolphins have vanquished any doubts about their superiority over the NWAACC North Division by claiming the Shoreline tournament.
The tournament held at the Shoreline Community College gym on Oct. 12 an 13, hosted six teams from across the state. Although the only other North Division team competing was Bellevue Community College, the number four state-ranked Chemeketa Storm (6-1 in league play, 19-1 overall) also participated.
The next day, the Dolphins faced the Bellevue Helmswomen in the semi-finals - it was then that they ran into competition. They won their first two games easily, 30-23, and 30-24. But they let their guard down in the next game and lost 17-30 followed by another loss of 22-30.
"We didn't pass and serve well," Dolphins coach, Mark West, said.
Kelly Romano, a first year student here, summed up her team's problems: "We play to the level of our opponent," she said.
Game five "brought the fear back" to the team, according to West. The Dolphins stepped up their game and finished off the Helmswomen 15-13 to advance to the finals.
Despite the victory, the team was shaken.
"Bellevue played smart - but we made some good adjustments," West said. "We gave Bellevue some confidence now, and we still have to play them this season."
Meanwhile the Chemeketa Storm had fought their way up the brackets to the championship slot as well, and they were waiting there for the Dolphins later that afternoon.
The Storm, who had charged through their last three opponents in the tournament, were 9-0 in tournament play before they met the Dolphins. In the next two games, however, the Dolphins broke the Storm's undefeated tournament record, beating them 30-24, and 31-29.
In contrast to their match against the Helmswomen the Dolphins "had good serving and passing the first two games," said West.
In the third game, the Dolphins gradually fell behind on multiple mental lapses and gave in to Chemeketa 20-30. The ensuing game was played with a higher level of intensity on both sides, but the victory went to the Storm again, beating the Dolphins 31-29 and tying up the match 2-2. It was a repeat of the semi-finals - once again the Dolphins would have to battle back in a fifth game after winning their first two.
"We got out of focus on the third and fourth game," West said.
Monteverde, who had been playing with a grin on her face, suddenly altered her complexion after their second loss. "We lost our focus," she said. "(Before the tie-breaker) we said to each other, 'Okay - we have to win this next one.'"
The Dolphins came out in game five with a dominating 4-1 start, only to watch the Storm tie it up 4-4. The tie disappeared, however, as Shoreline pulled away with a 9-5 lead midway into the game. With the score at 13-11, "Big Girl" Monteverde, as dubbed by her teammats, stepped up - first she spiked the ball into the corner for a 14-11 lead. After the Storm responded with a point, she lobbed the ball over the raised arms of two defending Storm players to give the Dolphins the winning point and the championship title.
"I am very excited," Monteverde said of her team's victory. "It's the first time we've beat Chemeketa," West said. "And we did very good."
The undefeated start and the tournament championship haven't phased the Dolphin's concentration, however, even after achieving one of their season goals - winning the Shoreline Crossover Tournament.
"The girls have to improve because the other teams are improving too," said West.
"Right now we're learning, but we've got some tough games coming up - if we can win those, then we can beat anyone."
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| by Chris Collins | |
The looming image of the 6-foot-2 Peruvian 19-year old rising above the net and slashing the volleyball past the raised arms of helpless opponents will remain in the minds of every player who goes up against this year's Dolphins.
On Friday, the Dolphins matched up with the Centralia Trailblazers and outscored them 30-14, 30-28, and 30-24 in a best 3-out-of-5 match. Later that day, they overpowered the Big Ben Vikings 30-13, 30-15, and 30-23 to earn a top spot on the tournament bracket.
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