Eighth-grade volleyball wraps up

The eighth-grade volleyball teams, Beauty, Beast and Chip, wrapped up another great season coached by Clay Warburton, who just finished his 11th year as the eighth-grade volleyball coach.

Hitters included Emma Houck, Julianne Meeter, Savannah Ryan, Victoria Maiden, Emily Scalda, Hogan Warner and Chelsea Bradley.

Playing at middle were Remington Slicker, Brooke Knirk, Rylee Rockwood, Amanda Smith, Bree Papworth and Kayla Loudermilk.

Sabrina Reifschneider, Alex Hartford, Laura Waltosz, Devry Grace, Mykaila Hartman and Chelsea Tosello quarterbacked the teams at the setter position. Annika Stadeli played libero.

Beauty had a tremendous season and only lost one of their 11 matches and split their match against Crook County. Beauty was always the best serving team in the gym, and no one served better.

Beauty's match against High Desert Middle School stood out in Warburton's mind.

"We had 75 bump-set-spikes in the match," said Warburton. "We really passed well and took care of all the balls sent to us. Our setter set to the hitters and we attacked.

"We play power volleyball and a lot of teams don't bump, set and spike the ball like we do," added Warburton. "Instead of getting frustrated and hitting the ball over on the first touch, we tried to really control the ball and bump, set and spike. We worked hard on fundamentals and tried to model the Gold Medal philosophy like the high school so we all have common language and the girls can make an easy transition from the middle school to the high school."

Four girls, Tosello, Hartman, Grace and Waltosz, stepped up to set for Beast. These players had no previous experience as setters and worked hard to understand the position, its role as the leader on the floor and the one who distributes the ball to the rest of the team.

Beast's biggest match of the season was against High Desert and was highlighted by a 45-touch rally.

"It was the longest rally of the year," said Warburton. "It went bump-set-spike-dig and then would repeat. It went on so long, and then we finally won the point."

Chip won over 50 percent of their matches.

Warburton was pleased with his teams' hard work and effort over the season.

"Some of the magic in this sport can be found in the many triumphs each individual makes over a specific skill when they can successfully do something for the first time," stated Warburton. "An example is when they serve overhand for the first time, when they pass the ball to a specific target or when they jump to attack a ball. I have to commend all the girls on their hard work and their commitment they brought to the team and how they represented their school and their community."