November 14, 2009
Bears bring home seventh place trophy -- Oly finished another successful year by taking seventh in the State Tourney.

Congrats to all players and coaches!

Coverage of State Tournament:
News Tribune
Olympian

November 8, 2009
Second seed secured -- The Bears will go to State as the second seed from District 3 as they cruised past Tahoma in their early match and then fell to Curtis in the championship.

Coverage of final day of Districts:
News Tribune
Olympian

Follow these links for District tournament results and 4A State Tournament information. Go Bears!

November 6, 2009
ON TO STATE! -- The Bears secured a berth to the State Tournament in Kennewick by winning their first two matches at Districts.

Emerald Ridge was the first to fall in the noon match in three straight sets (25-18, 25-10, 25-13).

Oly then knocked off Kentwood 3-0 to secure a spot to State (25-19, 25-6, 25-14).

It will be Bears versus Bears at noon tomorrow as Oly will match up against the 10th seed from the SPSL, Tahoma. Tahoma earned the right to play Oly by surprising the number one seed Graham-Kapowsin and then downing Stadium 3-0. The Bears will then play again at 4:00 in the championship match if they win.

Way to go Bears!

October 31, 2009
Oly secures second seed for Districts -- As expected, Gig Harbor and Oly matched up in the Narrows championship. Like the regular season match, this one went to a fifth set except this time Gig Harbor was able to pull off the win (25-23, 21-25, 25-23, 17-25, 12-15). See coverage on the match in The Olympian and the News Tribune. The Tribune also has a gallery.

Lauren Herseth led the team in kills with 13 and Megan Triggs returned to form with 29 digs. Michelle Cristy had 34 assists.

October 29, 2009
Bears kick off post-season with win at home -- Oly saw Shelton for the second time this week with similar results. The Bears started strong and never looked back, winning 25-9, 25-10, and 25-4.

The win means Oly will play again at noon on Saturday at Mt. Tahoma. If they win that match, they play in the championship at 5:00. The brackets aren't posted but I believe the Bears will face Stadium, who topped Central Kitsap.

The other two League Tourney matches were played in Gig Harbor where Gig Harbor beat South Kitsap 3-0 and Bellarmine downed Wilson 3-1.

October 27, 2009
League Tournament begins at OHS on Thursday -- Varsity will begin postseason play by hosting the first round of the playoffs at OHS. The Bears play at 5:30 versus the number eight seed. Then at 7:30, the 4th and 5th seeds play on the same court.

Oly clinched the first seed on Monday with a three-set win over Shelton (25-10, 25-10, 25-16).

League tournament play continues on Saturday the 31st. If the Bears win on Thursday, they play Saturday at noon. If they win that match, they play in the championship at 5:00.

Come out and support the Bears!

October 27, 2009
JV Wins Black Hills Tournament -- Got this great shot of the JV Team after winning the Black Hills Tourney. Nice job, JV!

October 22, 2009
Olympia finds way to win at Gig Harbor -- The Bears pulled out a 3-2 victory over Gig Harbor in comeback fashion tonight. It was the first loss for the 7th-ranked Tides.

Oly won the first set 25-23 but fell behind early in the second and never recovered in a 20-25 second set. They also lost the third 22-25 but quieted the crowd by ending the set with a 12-5 rally after falling behind 10-20.

Gig Harbor took a 5-point lead at 22-17 in the fourth but Oly battled back to tie the set at 23 then fell behind and fought off a match point before rattling off two more to pull out the win, 26-24.

The fifth set was an exchange of scoring streaks as Oly jumped out 13-7 and eventually winning 15-13. Stats are posted on the Tribune site.

The win locks up first seed in the League tourney for the Bears and puts Gig Harbor in a battle for second with CK, which will be resolved in their Monday night matchup.

October 20, 2009
Bears shine on Senior Night -- Lack of focus can sometimes be a problem for teams on Senior Night but the Bears had no problems tonight against Central Kitsap. Olympia jumped out to a 7-1 start and went on to win in three sets (25-7, 25-12, 25-21).

The win sets up a battle of unbeaten teams on Thursday afternoon as the Bears face off against Gig Harbor on the Tides' home court at 4:45pm. With only one match remaining, the winner will go into the League tourney as the likely number one seed. Gig Harbor was idle tonight.

Bellarmine is tied with CK after winning at Lincoln. Also tonight, Stadium topped Foss, and Wilson downed South Kitsap. The results of the Mt. Tahoma v. Shelton match was not reported yet.

October 18, 2009
Depth on display at Cap City -- Oly was without two key weapons but still took home the Capital City trophy for the second year in a row.

Lauren Herseth and Megan Triggs sat out the day. Annie Sing was certainly up to the challenge--stepping in at libero and eventually taking the tournament MVP award with 82 digs. Freshman Tiana McIntosh came up from the JV team at the outside hitter position and had some pivotal kills as well as a good day from the service line.

Also see the article in the Olympian.

October 15, 2009
Mt. Tahoma bows to Olympia -- Oly was on their home court Wednesday night where they took down Mt. Tahoma in three sets, 25-7, 25-8, 25-7. Sarah Stoker had 10 kills and Jamie Wolph had 9 aces in the effort.

Gig Harbor also downed Bellarmine in three sets but the last must have been a thriller at 29-27. The CK - Wilson match was also close with CK pulling out the victory 3-2. Oly faces CK next at OHS next Tuesday at 7:00 in a pivotal league match.

Stadium beat Lincoln and the result of the Foss versus Shelton match has not been reported.

The Capital City Invite is Saturday at Olympia High School and promises some great matchups.

October 13, 2009
Wilson falls to Olympia -- The Bears continued their streak by beating Wilson 3-1 (25-18, 25-12, 15-25, 25-14).

Gig Harbor also remained unbeaten by downing Foss. SK, CK, and Bellarmine were also victorious over Shelton, Stadium, and Mt. Tahoma.

October 8, 2009
Olympia gets by Bellarmine Lions -- The Bears pulled past perennial power Bellarmine Prep on the Lions' home court tonight.

Olympia dropped the first set 19-25 and then swapped the next three games 25-15, 23-25, and 25-17 before the Bears won set five 15-8. It was Bellarmine's first loss in league play.

The other Narrows matches weren't nearly as close as Stadium beat Shelton, CK topped Foss, SK beat Lincoln, and Gig Harbor handed Wilson their second loss. All the matches were 3-set sweeps.

October 4, 2009
Oly stops Stadium -- The Bears had a full compliment of players after more than a week of illnesses. There were no signs of rust as Oly downed the Stadium Tigers 25-14, 25-10, 25-14.

Jen Liedes set the tone with 8 kills, 3 aces, and 2 blocks and Lisa Chulich and Lauren Herseth added 7 kills apiece. Michelle Christy had 23 assists on the night.

In other reports from the Narrows League, Bellarmine Prep handed Wilson their first league loss, 3-1, and Central Kitsap defeated Lincoln, 3-0. Gig Harbor remained perfect by beating South Kitsap in three sets and Mount Tahoma downed Foss, 3-0.

October 4, 2009
Bears avenge loss -- Oly avenged its only 2008 regular season loss with a 3-0 (25-9, 25-9, 25-11) win over Bethel on Friday. The Bears fell to the Braves in the first match of the season last year.

The third-ranked Bears showed their depth as they were without three players for the second game in a row. Annie Sing, Sarah Stoker, and Megan Triggs were all out due to illness. Christie Colasurdo and Lisa Chulich had seven kills each and Lauren Herseth had 23 digs at libero.

October 1, 2009
Bears wins at Foss -- Foss hosted the Bears tonight and fell in three staight sets 25-13, 25-14 and 25-16. Michelle Christy had 26 assists, dishing to Courtney Houser and Lauren Herseth for 7 kills each, Jennifer Liedes for 6 kills, and Olivia Rethwell for 5. Jamie Wolph had 7 aces from the service line.

Shelton was also a winner tonight, taking their first league match against Lincoln, 3-1. Wilson beat Mt. Tahoma, 3-0 and CK won over SK in a 3-2 in a tightly fought match and Gig Harbor defeated Stadium 2-1. Bellarmine had the night off.

September 29, 2009
Oly wins second -- The Bears continued their strong start on the season with a third place finish in the Kent Classic Invitational tourney on Sunday and a win over Lincoln tonight.

Oly's only loss in the tourney was to eventual champion and 6A Oregon powerhouse Central Catholic.

Tonight's match against Lincoln was a 3-0 sweep with senior Megan Triggs owning the service line and the back court with 6 service aces and 26 digs.

Also tonight, Bellarmine handed Stadium their first loss 3-1, Gig Harbor beat Shelton 3-0, South Kitsap topped Mt. Tahoma 3-1, and Wilson downed Foss 3-0.

September 23, 2009
Oly opens league play with win -- The Bears travelled to Port Orchard to face the South Kitsap Wolves in the league opener on Wednesday. Oly took the match in straight sets, 25-17, 25-16, 25-9. Lisa Chulich lead the Bears with 10 kills.

In other Narrows League match-ups, Bellarmine beat Foss, Gig Harbor beat Lincoln, Stadium topped Mt. Tahoma, and Central Kitsap won over Shelton.

September 22, 2009
League play begins -- Oly had a bye in the first series of league matches on Monday. Bellarmine topped CK 3-1, Stadium blanked SK 3-0, Wilson beat Shelton 3-2, Foss beat Lincoln 3-1, and Gig Harbor won over Mt. Tahoma 3-0.

September 12, 2009
Bears take home opener -- The Bears entertained a big home crowd with a 3-0 win over Skyline Thursday evening.

Oly set the tone early, winning four of the first seven points on commanding blocks at the net. Megan Triggs owned the backcourt with 26 digs. The team also had a good night on offense and never let Skyline regain their composure. Michelle Christy had 24 assists in the match.

JV and C teams also came out on top 2-0 and 2-1, respectively.

September 9, 2009
Bears open with win over Rogers -- Olympia went to Puyallup to face Rogers on Tuesday and came away with a 3-0 win (25-16, 25-13, 25-14).

Sara Stoker had 8 kills and 3 blocks and Lauren Herseth had 5 kills in the match.

The Bears are ranked 10th in the first rankings from the Washington State Volleyball Coaches Association, which were released today.

August 23, 2009
More former Bears continue success at college level -- Power leftie Michelle Woodward had her first scrimmage playing for Edmonds Community College last week.

Triton Coach Tony Miranda said, "She had a great outing. She is progressing nicely in our system and looks to have a great season."

Michelle was also elected team captain before the match.

Michelle joins five other standouts from Oly that are playing at the college level. See the entire list in the right column on this page.