May 9, 2012
[fixed links] Summer Newsletter and Bear Camp news -- Coach Creighton released the 2012 Summer Newsletter, which has some coaching insight regarding the 2011 campaign to the State Championship as well as valuable information related to the upcoming season.

Coach Creighton also announced the dates for the 2012 Olympia Volleyball Bear Camp. The camp will be held June 25th through the 27th. All sessions are limited enrollment so submit your registration form early.

May 2, 2012
Volleykidz -- Sign up your child for six hours of quality volleyball instruction from coaches of one of the premier programs in the Northwest. This program is focused on players in grades 3-6 and wil be held on Wednesdays beginning today through May 23rd.

March 12, 2012
Oly seniors and coach featured at Fife event -- Alex Bassett, Christie Colosurdo and Coach Creighton got together for a reunion on the court on Saturday. The 27th annual Washington Coaches Association event was held at Fife. Read the Olympian article.

November 14, 2011
Bears Take State Title! -- The Bears are now the defending 4A state champs. Here's a video.

Congrats to the team, coaches and fans on an incredible season.

November 11, 2011
Oly beats Newport and Mead at State -- The Bears powered past Newport 3-0 to kick off the 4A brackets this morning. Oly won 25-20, 25-14, 25-15 with their potent offense and rock solid defensive play.

They then defeated Mead in the quarter finals in five sets. The win moves the Bears into a semi-final match against defending champion Jackson at 3:15 tomorrow at St. Martin's Pavillion.

November 7, 2011
State tournament updates and links -- The brackets for Friday and Saturday have been posted. The Bears face Newport in the first match of the tourney at 11:45am on Court 3 at St. Martin's University.

The WIAA has also posted lots of information for spectators on their Fan Page--including directions, pricing, and parking information.

Go Bears!

November 5, 2011
ON TO STATE! -- Olympia faced Bellarmine Prep for the third time this season this afternoon. This time the District III title was on the line. Like the first time the two powerhouse teams met during the regular season, the Bears made it harder on themselves than the Lions did.

Oly struggled just enough to let the Lions escape with a 3-1 victory.

Olympia won three matches over the three day tournament, first beating Rogers and Tahoma to qualify for the State tourney and then taking down Kentwood (3-1) to move into the championship match.

Brackets for the State Tournament will be updated next week or check back here for the Bear's schedule.

October 31, 2011
District Tournament Brackets -- The District III tournament brackets have been updated. Olympia plays Rogers in the auxiliary gym at Kentwood High School at 1:45. If they win, they'll face the winner of the Kentridge-Tahoma match at 5:15pm on Court 2 in the main gym. See you there!

October 30, 2011
Bears take away first in Narrows -- The Lions found out what it was like to face a healthy and focused Olympia Bears team on Saturday. Olympia won in three sets to clinch the Narrows first seed at Districts next week (25-23, 25-23, 25-17). There were great articles posted in the Tacoma News Tribune and The Olympian today.

Alex Bassett had a huge match with 32 assists, 12 digs, and 2 blocks. Christie Colasurdo had 11 kills, Tiana McIntosh had 8 kills, and Megan Goodman and Michaela Berendt added 6 kills each. Sadie Beckenhauer had 14 digs at libero.

The match was set up by a 3-0 victory against Gig Harbor, who later lost to CK. CK and GH will go into the District tournament at 3rd and 4th seed, respectively.

Several Bears received Narrows League honors. The Bears will face Rogers in the District tournament opener.

October 24, 2011
Bears take Tides in three -- Oly beat Gig Harbor in a back-and-forth battle on the Tides' home court. GH battled throughout but did not have enough to break away as the Oly took the match 25-23, 25-23, 25-22. The win secures second seed for the Bears for the Narrows League Tournament this weekend.

The tourney determines seeding for Districts, which will be played November 4th and 5th at Kentwood High School. The District Tournament brackets are now available.

The only other score posted tonight is Bellarmine over South Kitsap 3-0.

October 21, 2011
League standings updated -- Wednesday night results have been posted. Stadium beat SK 3-2 and Gig Harbor beat Mt. Tahoma 3-0. The GH win sets up another big match for Oly as they travel to meet the Tides on Monday.

October 19, 2011
Oly tops CK on Senior Night -- The Oly Volleyball program saluted their five outgoing seniors by topping CK in three sets (27-25, 25-14, 25-18). Rachel Kelson stepped in and stepped up for an under-the-weather Tiana McIntosh. Rachel had 12 kills and Christie Colasurdo added 13 kills.

The only other score posted tonight is Bellarmine over Shelton 3-0.

October 17, 2011
Bears fall at Bellarmine -- Oly lost in three sets 21-25, 20-25, 22-25 against the #1 ranked Lions. The Bears kept it close but chose the wrong night to have an off-match as they racked up an uncharacteristic 32 unforced errors on the night.

The Olympian posted an article on the match. Other Narrows results: Gig Harbor over Stadium 3-1, Central Kitsap over Mt. Tahoma 3-0, South Kitsap over Shelton 3-0.

October 13, 2011
Bears keep Wolves at bay -- The Bears chalked up another three-game sweep as Oly volleyball went to Port Angeles to take on the South Kitsap tonight (25-13, 25-7, 25-8). The Wolves were better than the scores indicate as the Bears seemed to take every good shot by SK and somehow turn it into an attack.

Sadie Beckenhouer had 12 digs, Christie Colasurdo had 12 kills and Megan Goodman had 8 kills from the right side. Michaela Berendt had two blocks and Alex Basset had 32 assists on the night.

In other Narrows play, Bellarmine beat Mt. Tahoma 3-0, Gig Harbor got by Central Kitsap 3-2, and Shelton fell to Stadium.

October 11, 2011
Bears beat Highclimbers -- It was an interesting pre-game parade as the varsity Bears entered the gym as it was "nerd day" at Olympia High today.

After the Bears changed into their work clothes, they took care of business against Shelton, winning 3-0 (25-5, 25-15, 25-12). Christie Colasurdo had 10 kills and Hannah St. Jean had 5 kills and 7 blocks.

Oly travels to South Kitsap on Thursday. The match starts at 6:00 pm. South Kitsap beat Mt. Tahoma tonight 3-0.

Other scores reported tonight had Bellarmine over Gig Harbor 3-0 and Central Kitsap over Stadium 3-0.

October 10, 2011
Capitol City Invitational Tournament -- Oly finished as the runner up for the second year in a row. The Bears dominated pool play and then battled 10th-ranked Puyallup (28-26, 25-23) before falling to Burlington-Edison in the final.

Oly had an uncharacteristically large number of errors in the first set, which allowed B-E to pull out the first set 26-24. They regained their form and dominated the second set 25-11. This set up the anything-can-happen third set that B-E won 16-14 in a battle of long rallies and great defense.

The Olympian posted an article about the tourney.

The Bears took over 1st place in the 4A Seattle Times poll and 2nd place in the coaches poll.

October 5, 2011
Tigers toppled -- The Bears dropped the visiting Stadium Tigers, 3-0. Oly started strong in the first set, winning 25-12. The Tigers hung around until a laser beam shot by Michaela Berendt helped put away game two 25-22. The Bears used the momentum to take the third set 25-13.

Cristie Colasurdo had 8 kills and Hannah St. Jean had 8 kills and 2 blocks. Alex Bassett had two blocks to go along with her 32 assists.

Thanks to everyone that brought food for the Thurston County Food Bank.

In other Narrows action, Bellarmine beat CK 3-0, Gig Harbor topped SK 3-1. The Shelton versus Mt. Tahoma match has not been posted yet. Note that the 10-3 Shelton/Gig Harbor match results have been corrected as GH won 3-0 (I think).

October 3, 2011
Bears too much for Mt. Tahoma -- Oly took three straight sets over the visiting T-Birds (25-5, 25-7, 25-7). Mt. Tahoma had a difficult time returning Oly's tough serving as Sadie Beckenhauer had 8 aces, Tiana McIntosh had 6 aces, and Christie Colasurdo added 5 aces.

It was the first league match for the Bears. The next match is Wednesday night against Stadium.

10-4 update: Scores have now been posted for other league play. CK beat SK 3-1 and Gig Harbor lost to Shelton in three sets. Bellarmine topped Curtis 3-0 in a non-league match-up.

September 28, 2011
Olympia quiets crowd at Rogers -- The Rogers Rams brought a rowdy crowd to their gym tonight. The taunts and jeers eventually turned to homecoming requests for the visiting Bears as they were in control of the match throughout. Oly won 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-21) on solid play by the entire squad.

Christie Colasurdo and Michaela Berendt had 13 kills each and Alex Bassett tallied 35 assists. Tiana McIntosh had another good night at the service line, going 15-16.

One additional note from the Curtis match on Tuesday, Christie Colasurdo's 25 kills set a new school record, breaking a mark set in 1989.

September 27, 2011
Story on Coach Creighton -- The local site ThurstonTalk.com recently did an article on Coach Creighton and the amazing legacy she has created. See the story here.

September 27, 2011
Curtis falls to Olympia -- The Bears took on another ranked team in the Curtis Vikings. Like last year's 3-2 thriller at Curtis, this match-up was a see-saw battle until the end. Olympia dropped the first set 24-26 and won the second set by the same score. Curtis then took the third set 17-25. The fourth set began with a side out for Olympia and then Tiana McIntosh rattled off 10 serves for an 11-0 start. Olympia held the lead throughout, winning 25-15. McIntosh was a remarkable 30-31 serving on the night.

The fifth set started with a 4-0 Curtis run but Olympia quickly regained control and put the Vikings away 15-6.

Christie Colasurdo led the Bears with 25 kills. Sadie Beckenhauer had 27 digs and Alex Bassett had 53 assists--only two short of the school record set by Briget Miller in 2008.

League play started tonight. Bellarmine beat Stadium 3-0 and Gig Harbor beat Central Kitsap 3-1.

September 22, 2011
Olympia tops Tumwater -- As expected, Oly had their hands full but still took three straight sets against the visiting T-birds.

Tumwater looked tight to start the match and the Bears took advantage of it, winning 25-12. They came alive in the second and third sets but couldn't overcome Oly's balanced attack. Olympia pulled out those sets 25-22 and 28-26, coming from 8 points behind in the third.

Many thanks go out to the businesses, teams, coaches and fans for donating prizes, time, and money to support Lymphoma Awareness.

September 21, 2011
Bears come out strong at Emerald Ridge -- The Bears jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first set and never looked back against the Jags. Oly won the match in straight sets, 25-13, 25-15, 25-21.

Some great passing allowed Alex Bassett to set middle Michaela Berendt for thirteen kills. Alex showed her versatility with 33 assists and 17 digs while going 11-12 from the service line. Megan Goodman had seven kills and Tiana McIntosh and Rachel Kelson had five kills each.

Wear Purple tomorrow! Thursday's match has a special theme. We won't be seeing traditional blue and white on the Bears in Thursday night's match against Tumwater. The team will be wearing purple and lime green in recognition of Lymphoma Awareness. There will be a serving contest and t-shirt sales to raise funds for the Lymphoma Awareness Society. Donation will also be accepted.

Come out and support the team and this worthy cause.

September 18, 2011
Kent Classic -- Oly had another successful outing at the Kent Classic on Saturday. They took first in both pools--first defeating Tahoma (25-8, 25-9) and Roosevelt (25-16, 25-18), then taking down Valley Christian (25-17, 25-13) and Skyline (25-20, 25-18).

In the quarter finals, the Bears defeated host Kentwood 25-23, 22-25, 15-10. Eventual champions, Portland 6A power Central Catholic ended their day in the semi-final (15-25, 17-25), giving the Bears a third place finish for the second year in a row.

Team leaders for the tournament:
Kills - Christie Colasurdo 48, Michaela Berendt 39, Hannah St. Jean 21; Blocks - Michaela Berendt 8, Megan Goodman 7, Hannah St. Jean 6.5; Digs - Chloe Hallum 53, Sadie Beckenhauer 43, Christie Colasurdo 38; Serving - Alex Bassett 34/36 & 2 aces, Tiana McIntosh 67/71 & 9 aces, Sadie
Beckenhauer 19/21 & 3 aces, Christie Colasurdo 30/32; Serve-receive - top passer rating goes to Sadie Beckenhauer 2.6

Michaela Berendt had a notable performance in the Roosevelt match, setting a school record for hitting efficiency with a perfect nine kills on nine attempts.

September 15, 2011
Oly tops Capital -- The "Golden Orb" trophy is back at OHS after the Bears downed the Cougars 3-0 tonight.

Christie Colasurdo had the angle shot working from the outside, racking up 16 kills on the night. Hannah St. Jean and Michaela Berendt dominated the middle with 7 kills each. Read The Olympian's coverage of the match with some great pictures.

The Bears travel to Kentwood High School for the the Kent Classic on Saturday. The first match is at 8:00am against Tahoma. There's lots of information available on the Kent Classic website.

September 9, 2011
Timberline tumbles -- Timberline fell to the Bears last night on their home court after knocking off 10th ranked Stadium last week. There were great plays on both sides of the net but Oly was too much for the Blazers, winning in three straight (25-14, 25-19, 25-13).

Christie Colasurdo led the Bears in kills with 13, Chloe Hallum had 30 digs in only two sets, and Alex Bassett dished out 36 assists.

JV also won in a thriller, coming back from a 9-14 deficit in the third set to pull out the win.

September 6, 2011
Bears take first match -- The Bears opened the season with a non-league win over crosstown rival Black Hills. Oly started a little slow but got on track in the midway through the first set, eventually putting away the Wolves 25-20. They finished off the match 25-15 and 25-17 with some solid defensive play and tough serving.

September 3, 2011

Christie Colosurdo hits a cut shot for set point against Capital in the 2011 Jamboree at Tumwater High School.

September 1, 2011
Rosters have been updated.

August 26, 2011
Rosters Announced -- Rosters for your 2011 Bears Volleyball teams have been posted.

August 22, 2011
New "Records" Page -- The OHS Volleyball Records page has been added to the site. Last year's successes are apparent in the record book. One team record and five individual benchmarks were set just last year.

August 18, 2011
Tryouts begin Monday at 3:00 (not 3:30 as previously noted on this site) -- Tryouts begin Monday the 22nd (3:00-5:30 and 7:00-9:00) and the Cispus retreat for all teams is on the 26th and 27th. Parents, the Parent Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 30th at 6:00pm (meet in the gym).

The Summer Newsletter and the 2011 schedule have been posted. There are a number of local matches to begin the season that are guaranteed to be barn burners. Mark your calendars to catch the all the great action this season.

Congrats to two of last year's Bears for moving on to play at the next level. Annie Sing will take her defensive skills to Whitman College (check out the WC VB blog) and Lauren Herseth will be playing at Central Washington University, who are obviously happy to have her.

Go Bears!

See all the 2010 highlights.