Archive for Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Sailors volleyball players earn all-league honors
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Steamboat Springs Steamboat volleyball coach Wendy Hall doesn't like to make a big deal out of all-league recognition.
Especially not with a team like she had this season.
Led by a core of five seniors, this year's Steamboat Springs High School Sailors went 16-6 overall, and 11-3 in Class 4A Western Slope League play, to earn a berth to an extremely competitive district tournament that produced two eventual regional champions - Montrose and Regis - both of which beat Steamboat at districts to end the Sailors' season.
"It was such a balanced team that I felt like every kid was deserving," Hall said. "There were no big weaknesses, and every kid contributed."
At Steamboat's end-of-season banquet Tuesday night, Hall announced the three Steamboat players that earned the Western Slope League coaches' selection to the 12-member all-league team.
Senior outside hitters Katy Gary and Lisa Floyd, as well as sophomore setter Colleen King, made the cut for the squad. Senior libero Lizzie Stoll earned honorable mention.
"This is one of the first years I can remember when 11 of the 12 spots went to seniors," Hall said.
The one non-senior spot went to King. Hall pointed out the honor of a Steamboat athlete making the list - that league coaches compiled Oct. 22 - as an underclassman.
"There's a very small list that have gotten all-league as sophomores - I can count them on one hand," Hall said. She praised King's team-leading 58 blocks, 402 assists and 7.4 assists per game in league. "It was definitely impressive and well-deserved."
Gary, the Sailors "go-to" hitter, knocked down 131 kills, had a 23 percent hitting percentage (tabulated much like a baseball player's batting average) and had 23 blocks - what Hall called "a huge part of her game that impressed me."
Floyd finished league play with 82 kills, 27 blocks and a 96 percent serving average highlighted by 16 aces.
"She had some big swings for us at critical times," Hall said, also pointing to Floyd's responsibility in the team's serve-receive.
Hall wished she had the statistic that she believed helped define Stoll's contribution to the team - digs.
"She kept so many plays alive if our blockers missed, and she had some incredible digs for us at districts," Hall said, noting Stoll's 94 percent passed serve numbers.
League champion Battle Mountain was the only other school awarded three players to the all-league team.
"The rest of our team's stats are right there too," Hall said of a team whose chemistry came together to produce a 16-win season. "Every one of them deserves credit for the team's success."

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