Just a few days after setting a school record with 42 assists in a District IV 1A Volleyball Tournament match with Stevenson, Onalaska’s Samantha Gordon put another line on her résumé — MVP.
Gordon was voted the SWW 1A League Evergreen Division’s MVP by the league’s coaches, and players from Rochester, Tenino and Toledo were all named to the All-League first team.
“She just has so much volleyball experience,” Rochester coach Jerry Striegel said of Gordon, a senior and a first-team pick last year. “Her experience and her abilities just made her stand out over everybody else in the league. She has that savvy, that ability to make plays when other kids can’t.”
Gordon helped lead the Loggers to a 13-1 regular season record, and a third-place finish at the District IV tournament. Onalaska will enter the State 1A Volleyball Tournament on Thursday in Yakima.
Tenino’s Adelle Love and Toledo’s Vanessa Reich, both seniors, were voted first-team.
“Adelle actually played very well. She’s a strong girl that hit the ball really well,” Striegel said. “She was very important in their program for the last couple of years.”
Reich, a German foreign exchange student, fit in better with the Indians as the season wore on and she moved out of the setter position.
“We saw her early in the year, and you could tell she wasn’t used to playing with those girls,” Striegel said. “But her skills were shining glaringly. She’s a player.”
Rochester’s Julie Marquez, a 5-foot-9 junior middle hitter, was also voted to the first team.
“She was instrumental in our ballclub,” Striegel said. “She was kind of the gal that could make it go in the middle.”
Montesano’s Tera Novy and Mackenzie McEvoy, along with Rainier’s Kristin Schoenherr, rounded out the first team, and Montesano’s Debbie Gibson was named Coach of the Year.
Onalaska’s Kalie Ritchey, Rochester’s Jacque Vaughn and Tenino’s Nikki Johnson were all voted to the second team.
SWW 1A ALL-LEAGUE VOLLEYBALL TEAM
MVP
Samantha Gordon Sr. Onalaska
Coach of the Year
Debbie Gibson Montesano
FIRST TEAM
Tera Novy So. Montesano
Julie Marquez Jr. Rochester
Kristen Schoenherr Jr. Rainier
Adelle Love Sr. Tenino
Vanessa Reich Sr. Toledo
Mackenzie McEvoy Sr. Montesano
SECOND TEAM
Kalie Ritchey Sr. Onalaska
Paige Kennedy Sr. Forks
Megan Truax Sr. Montesano
Jacque Vaughn Sr. Rochester
Nikki Johnson Sr. Tenino
HONORABLE MENTION
Karlee Olive Sr. Rochester
Hailey Givens Jr. Onalaska
Sarah Vincent Sr. Rainier
Cassy Chickese Sr. Winlock
Sherelle Eichorst Jr. Winlock
Kara Trimble Sr. Montesano
Nicole Ewers Sr. Toledo
