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WATER POLO PERHAPS?: It was an odd sight at the Goldendale pool last week when Coach Ginger Plum, with bull horn in hand, had the volleyball team run to the Goldendale pool, do a few water aerobics and run back to the school during practice. At lower right, Lexi Cameron resumes her familiar position on the left side of the offense where she racked up plenty of kills last year. Andrew Christiansen.
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 Coaching changes highlight start of volleyball season
Andrew Christiansen
Reporter
Two new faces take the reins of Klickitat County volleyball teams this year, Ginger Plum in Goldendale, and Joelle Patterson in Bickleton.
Plum moves from coaching basketball in Goldendale to her favorite sport, volleyball. Plum played two years of basketball in college, but she also played four years of volleyball. The position became open when Jodi Bellamy stepped away from coaching after guiding Goldendale to State in six of her nine seasons as head coach. Plum inherits a strong team that nearly made it seven straight State appearances in spite of losing six players to graduation in 2009. Sadie Shattuck anchors the front line with big outside hitters Lexi Cameron and Alex Counts providing variety to the attack. Others with varsity experience are Haley Hoffman, Crysta Counts, Karissa Ihrig, Allison Hutchins, Asia Van Horn and Carly Slawson.
There will be many more players likely to contribute as Plum has 34 girls out for the sport this year. In fact one of the bigger challenges for the coach will be getting enough playing time for the C squad girls. But Plum seeks to do just that. “My approach is the same [as basketball]. I want to provide every player with an opportunity to grow as a volleyball player and a person.”
It will take a lot of help with so many girls on the team and Plum has great help. Her former high school coach, Carla Wilkins is back in the game assisting her former pupil. Twenty-five of the girls played summer ball, although not club ball. Twenty also attended a skills clinic and tournament at Central Washington University. The team has a good shot at resuming their presence at State.
Bickleton
Bickleton has a mixed bag for Patterson. They lost some key players to graduation, but they have some young talent with another year under their belt. Three seniors lead the way, Katelynn Clinton, Star Kibby and Jenna Mount. It will be the fifth year for Clinton in varsity competition. Her chief rivals and friends Samantha Brewer, from Klickitat and Liz Vogt, from TLG have had the honor of playing in the State tournament. It will take a strong effort from Bickleton’s supporting cast if Clinton is to get her shot at State. Kibby is a great leaper who brings energy to the floor. Mount has not played volleyball in high school, but is athletic. Aymie Osborne is a solid outside hitter who is in her fourth year as a junior. The Pirates can put one of the tallest teams in the league on the floor with sophomore Jaimie Venema and perhaps eighth grader Lindsay Brown. Both girls are in the 5-10 range. Backcourt has some experience and athletic ability with sophomores Haley Goodnight and Amanda McBride and freshman Sydnie O’Banion, all who gained experience last year.
Patterson brings experience as a college player. She is the sister of TLG assistant, Bo Arnold. Patterson replaces Kim Clinton who opted to take some time off to enjoy supporting her son Peter, playing football at Mabton-Bickleton and Katelynn in her senior year.
Trout Lake-Glenwood
TLG is loaded and anxious to get back to State. They lost senior leadership to graduation, but coach Angie Cox says that her four seniors have stepped up and are setting a good example for the team. “We are very excited about the season,” says Cox. “This year we plan to take the next step and bring home some hardware from the State tournament.” One of the keys to last year’s District championship team was mental attitude. The coaches made a specific effort to build the confidence and focus in last year’s team and they are continuing it this year. There are 14 girls on the team, most of whom played off-season ball. One thing Cox did to try and take that next step at State was to ask for a tougher non-conference schedule. Not all of the requested games came through, but you will see King’s Way Christian on the schedule. It’s the mark of a team that is willing to sacrifice their record in exchange for a chance to elevate their game. The team is strong at key positions with a pair of returning setters in Chelsea Cox and Dakota Jones and six-foot spiker Vogt. Tahsa Johnson, Krissy Yarnell and Veronica Glenn join Vogt with new senior leadership.
Klickitat
One of the question marks for the season will be how well Klickitat overcomes the loss of Zoe Lindner and Tia Spino. Coach Jaecee Hoctor believes the girls will take some time to gel as a team with new faces in those key roles, but she thinks they will be just fine and compete with TLG for the league title. The Vandals are coming off another great year, finishing fourth at State. Martisha Woodall made big strides on the front line last year and Hoctor will be looking to sophomore Lara Parsons to make her presence felt this year. Ashley Meeks returns as the primary setter and experienced players Chelci Curtis, Cassie Clack, Sarah Ingebo, Charice McConville, Brenda Lambert and Grace Quinton give a look of experience to the team. Curtis is a good bet to fill the scoring role that Lindner excelled in from the service line. Freshman Keandra Kessinger and four eighth graders will give Hoctor plenty of players for full scrimmage during practice.
Lyle-Wishram
The new kid on the block in the Gorge 1B league is a familiar foe Lyle-Wishram. The Cougars are excited about tackling the new league, one they feel they are a better fit in terms of competition. Coach Lori Smith thinks her team will show well in the league if her girls commit to work hard and if the younger players get up to speed with the varsity program. There is a comfort level for the team in playing against teams they are not only familiar with, but also playing against girls, many of whom are their friends. Leading the way for the Cougars as she has for the past several years is Karlee Roth. Roth is the gyroscope for the team. She is a cool competitor who is like an on-floor coach for the team. Roth serves well, is an accurate setter and can make the backcourt kill shot if needed. Big on the line will be Taylor Freemantle and Smith is looking for the height of freshman Kirstin Hylton to help block the big guns from the other league teams. Brianna Brock had a solid year in 2009 and has settled into the role as team setter.
Play gets underway this weekend for Bickleton at the Prosser JV tournament, starting at 9 a.m. Lyle-Wishram is in action next Tuesday in a home opener against Seton Catholic, of Vancouver beginning at 6 p.m. TLG opens at Arlington on Sept. 10, 6 p.m.
Goldendale eases into the SCAC season with the Ki-Be jamboree starting at 5 p.m. on Sept. 7. The will play in the SunDome tournament in Yakima on Sept. 10, before diving right into league play when Highland visits on Sept. 14. Bickleton will also play at the SunDome. Klickitat’s schedule wasn’t available at press time.
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