East Oregonian
GRESHAM — When the Blue Mountain Community College volleyball season started in August, coach Dave Baty talked to his girls about the arc they wanted to take over the year. The Timberwolves looked to peak at the end of the season, the climax of a gradual crescendo in play.
The time has come for the Timberwolves to peak, Baty said, now that the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges postseason tournament is under way. Blue Mountain (27-11) meets Bellevue (20-11) in a first-round pairing Thursday at 2 p.m. on the campus of Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham.
The Timberwolves and Bulldogs have met just once before this season, a three-set sweep (25-18, 25-21, 25-15) for Blue Mountain in a tournament two months ago. That result carries little weight in this matchup, middle blocker Becky Kershner said. Both teams have changed since then and the stakes are much higher in this go-around.
“We’re going in with the idea that in this tournament you’re all equals,” Kershner said. “It’s 0-0 as your record; this is pretty much starting over.”