As expected, the rebuilding period for the Shoreline Community College volleyball program was brief.
Boosted by the return of four sophomores and 2001 Northern Division MVP Natalia Owens, the Dolphins are regaining their championship form.
Shoreline missed out on the playoffs last season after placing second at the NWAACC tournament in 2002 and fifth the year before.
“We’ve got a really strong group of sophomores and probably the best freshman class we’ve ever had,” co-coach Mark West said. “It’s going to be fun to see how far they can go this year.”
During her two-year absence, Owens got married and had a baby. The 6-foot-1 middle hitter from Los Proceres, Peru, has already committed to play for Washington State University.
“She’s a lot more patient than she used to be,” West said. “She’s playing smarter.”
Owens was voted MVP at the Nassau Invitational earlier this month in Long Island, N.Y. Shoreline went 6-0 and didn’t drop a game at the eight-team tournament.
Sophomore setter Julie Oleson and freshman outside hitter also received all-tournament honors for the Dolphins, who encountered much stiffer competition during another trip to British Columbia last week.
Shoreline suffered its first losses since the championship match of a preseason tournament at Bellevue and dropped to 12-4 going into league play.
Defending co-champions Whatcom and Bellevue were picked along with Shoreline as the Northern Division teams to watch in the preseason coaches poll.
Whatcom returns five players from last year’s team that finished fourth at the NWAACC championships and Bellevue brings back four sophomores.
With an abundance of power at the net and a deep bench, West sees the Dolphins contending for league and conference titles.
“The girls are putting a lot of pressure on themselves and we push them as much as we can,” West said. “They’re confident, but they also know there’s a lot of things they can do better.”
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