Edmonds CC volleyball team is hot, cold

By KEVIN BREIWICK

Herald Writer

A strong start turned into a late season stumble for the Edmonds Community College volleyball team.

“Other teams improved a lot while we held a plateau,” coach Bill Kellogg said.

The Tritons were in first place during the early part of the season in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges North Division, but the team ended up finishing third.

A 15-4, 15-12, 15-11 loss to first-place Skagit Valley CC on Nov. 6 forced a playoff for second place with Whatcom CC. The Tritons lost the match in five games, 15-11, 8-15, 15-6, 14-16, 15-9. Edmonds finished the regular season in third place at 8-4. Whatcom finished in second with an 8-4 record.

Still, the top four teams will compete in the postseason. Edmonds will head to the 16-team NWAACC tournament this weekend at Mount Hood CC. Shoreline is the fourth team from the North Division.

The Tritons first-round pairing will be against Green River CC. Green River finished the season second in the West Division with an 11-2 record.

“We measure up against them,” Kellogg said. “I feel I know the team (Green River) pretty well.”

Kellogg said the team has spent more than a week preparing for the season-ending tournament.

“If you can get these first two victories (in the tournament) you’re well on your way,” Kellogg said. “Our big goal is to make it to the second day. The third day is a bonus.”

All-stars: Fei Ye and Crystal Daily of EdCC and Allison Campbell of Shoreline were named to the North Division First All-Region team for volleyball. Annie Beck and Roxanne Gilbert was named to the sophomore all-star squad for Edmonds. Daily, Ye and Rachele Stark earned spots on the sophomore all-around team.

Shoreline’s Spencer named player of the week: Shoreline CC’s Jessica Spencer, a sophomore defensive player, was named the NWAACC defensive player of the week for Oct. 16-22. She was honored as the NWAACC defensive player of the year last year, and also was the lone representative for Shoreline on the North Division all-star team.

Basketball schedules: Both of the Everett Community College basketball teams have started their seasons. The women began Nov. 4 and played Douglas College on Tuesday. The women will host the Everett CC tournament from Dec. 1-3. The men’s team began their season Oct. 27. They will compete in the Edmonds CC Turkey Shootout Nov. 24-26.

The Edmonds basketball teams get a later start. The men open their season hosting the Turkey Shootout. The women open up at Puget Sound Christian, Nov. 28 at 6 p.m.

EdCC in semifinals: The EdCC women’s soccer team will play Walla Walla CC at 3 p.m. Saturday at Pop Keeney Stadium in the NWAACC semifinals. Walla Walla (10-5-3) was a 1-0 winner over Tacoma CC in the quarterfinals on Nov. 12. With a victory Saturday, Edmonds (14-2-1) will play in the championship at 2 p.m. Sunday at Pop Keeney. A loss would mean a consolation game at 10 a.m.