2011-12 Volleyball News
SALEM, ORE. -- Erik Shoji, who earned First Team All-American honors all four years as a men's volleyball libero at Stanford University, will be a guest coach at the Willamette University setter/libero/defensive clinic on June 25-26 and the advanced skills volleyball camp set for June 27-29.
SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University women's soccer Head Coach Hillary Arthur has been chosen as the 2011-12 Chuck Bowles Collegiate Coach of the Year by the Salem Sports and Breakfast Club. She received the award at the organization's annual awards breakfast on Friday, June 1 at the Cat Cavern on the Willamette campus.
SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University volleyball players Shannon Waltz (So., MH, Honolulu, HI/La Pietra HS) and Madisyn Leenstra (Jr., MH/OH, Bellingham, WA/Sehome HS) have been named Honorable Mention All-Northwest Conference in voting by the league's head coaches.
SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University senior midfielder Stephanie Skelly (Poulsbo, WA/North Kitsap HS) has been chosen First Team Capital One NCAA Division III Academic All-District VIII in women's soccer for the 2011 season. It is the second consecutive year that Skelly has been named First Team Academic All-District in voting by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
SALEM, ORE. -- Whitman College poured in four goals in the second half to defeat Willamette University, 4-1, on Saturday, Nov. 5 at Sparks Field. The Missionaries led 2-0 on a pair of goal by Amy Hasson, before Stephanie Skelly (Sr., MF, Poulsbo, WA/North Kitsap HS) scored for the Bearcats at 72:37. Whitman added goals at 76:56 and 83:42 to pull away.
SALEM, ORE.- The University of Puget Sound earned 34 kills in a three-set sweep of Willamette University in a Northwest Conference women's volleyball matchup on Saturday, Nov. 5. Willamette ends their season at 8-17 (5-11 NWC). With the win, UPS moves to 18-6 (10-6 NWC).
SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University broke open a scoreless game with two goals in the final 24 minutes, as the Bearcats picked up a key Northwest Conference victory, 2-0, over visiting Whitworth University on Friday, Nov. 4 at Sparks Field. Maddy Grainger (Jr., MF/D, Salt Lake City, UT/West HS) and Ariel Wilson (Jr., MF, Fort Collins, CO/Poudre HS) scored the goals for Willamette.
FOREST GROVE, ORE. - Pacific University earned 56 total kills and hit .238 as a team, as the Boxers defeated Willamette University 3-1 in a Northwest Conference women's volleyball match on Friday, Nov. 4. With the win, the Boxers improve to 13-11 (7-8 NWC). The Bearcats fall to 8-16 (5-10 NWC). Pacific won the match, 25-15, 26-24, 19-25, 25-18. Four Boxers finished the match with double digit kills. Kelsy Takashima and Haley Bedell each earned 13 kills, while Mariah McHolland and Keahi Braginsky-Ahloo both recorded 11 kills. Pacific also played tight defensively, holding Willamette to a team hitting percentage of .157 and posting 14 block assists. Willamette was once again led by Danica Reed (Jr., OH, Arvada, CO/Ralston Valley HS) and Madisyn Leenstra (Jr., MH/OH, Bellingham, WA/Sehome HS), who both notched 11 kills during the match. Emily Compton (So, S, Portola, CA/Portola HS/Boise State Univ.) led the Bearcats with 35 assists. Kathy Lee Glenn (Jr., LIB/DS, Murrieta, CA/Vista Murrieta HS) topped Willamette in digs with 18. Reed provided 13 digs for the Bearcats. Pacific came out quickly, winning the first two sets of the match. The Boxers started set #1 on a 12-4 run and didn't look back, never letting Willamette within six points en route to a 25-15 victory. Conversely, the second set never had more than a 3-point lead for either team. The Bearcats and Boxers traded the lead eight times throughout the set. Willamette earned a set point at 24-23 with a kill from Shannon Waltz (So., MH, Honolulu, HI/La Pietra High School) and an attacking error from Braginsky-Ahloo. However, Pacific scored the next three points on a Bearcat service error and two consecutive kills from Takashima to go up 2-0 in the match. Facing a sweep, Willamette battled back in the third set. After leading 8-6, the Bearcats went on a 10-2 run, including seven straight serves from Reed. The Bearcats went on to win the game, 25-19. With a chance to even the match score in the fourth set, Willamette kept at the Boxers' heels all the way to a 16-16 tie. Pacific scored the next six points to take a 22-16 lead, thanks in part to a service error, two attacking errors, and a blocking error by the Bearcats. Pacific won the set 25-18, sealing the victory, 3-1. Willamette will now return home to play its season finale tomorrow night (Sat., Nov. 5) against the University of Puget Sound. Match time is set for 7 p.m. (PDT).
SALEM, ORE. -- Willamette University had three players record double-digit kills Saturday night as the defeated Lewis & Clark 3-1 in a Northwest Conference women's volleyball matchup. With the win, the Bearcats move to 8-15 (5-9 NWC). The Pioneers drop to 13-11 (9-5 NWC).
SALEM, ORE. -- George Fox University notched 40 kills in just four sets to defeat Willamette University, 3-1, in a Northwest Conference volleyball match on Friday, October 28 at Cone Field House. George Fox improved its record to 9-14 (4-10 NWC) while Willamette fell to 8-14 (4-9 NWC).
SPOKANE, WASH. -- Whitworth University, ranked #24 in the NCAA Division III National Poll, defeated Willamette University, 3-0, in Northwest Conference volleyball action on Saturday, Oct. 22. The Pirates advanced their record to 16-5 on the season and retained a two-match lead in the NWC standings with an 11-1 mark. Willamette dropped to 7-14 overall, 4-8 in the NWC.
WALLA WALLA, WASH. -- The Whitman College volleyball team played well on its home court on Friday, Oct. 21, as the Missionaries defeated Willamette University, 3-1, at the Sherwood Center. Whitman won the match, 25-15, 25-20, 21-25, 25-13.
SALEM, ORE. -- Pacific Lutheran University swept past Willamette University, 25-15, 25-15, 25-15, on Friday, Oct. 14 at Cone Field House, as the Lutes hit .238, earned nine service aces and produced 10.0 team total blocks. PLU improved to 15-3 overall, 7-2 in the Northwest Conference, while recording its 11th 3-0 victory of the season. Willamette dropped to 7-12 overall, 4-6 in the NWC.
McMINNVILLE, ORE. -- Willamette University hitters Carly Hargrave (So., MH, Happy Valley, OR/Clackamas HS) and Madisyn Leenstra (Jr., MH/OH, Bellingham, WA/Sehome HS) came out attacking and blocking against Linfield College on Wednesday, Oct. 12, as the duo led the Bearcats to a three-set sweep of the Wildcats in Northwest Conference volleyball action. Hargrave pounded out nine kills and had no attacking errors, while also providing four total blocks. Leenstra blasted nine kills and had three blocks.
WALLA WALLA, WASH. -- Senior midfielder Stephanie Skelly (Poulsbo, WA/North Kitsap HS) entered Willamette University's game on Saturday, Oct. 8 as the Bearcats' leading scorer with six goals on the season. In Saturday's game against Whitman College, she continued to lead the offense, tallying two goals in the final 5:12 as Willamette rallied for a 2-1 win.
TACOMA, WASH. -- The University of Puget Sound, ranked #19 in NCAA Division III, defeated visiting Willamette University, 3-0, in a Northwest Conference match on Saturday, Oct. 8. The Loggers upped their record to 14-2 overall, including 6-2 in the NWC. Willamette dropped to 6-11 overall, 3-5 in the NWC.