Edmonds Community College Athletics

Tritons Volleyball

Click here for: 2009 Volleyball Summer Camps

Comings & Goings:

2009-10 Letter-of-Intent Signees: We welcome these new additions to the Triton Volleyball Program:

Kellee Bates, 5'10" OH, Mt. Spokane HS, Spokane WA
Camilla Alexander, 5'9" Setter, Lakeside HS, Spokane WA
Michelle Woodward, 5'9" Opposite, Olympia HS, Olympia WA
Rebecca Stafford, 5'11" OH, Borah HS , Boise ID
Alyssa Dahl, 5'4" DS, Gresham HS, Gresham, OR
Alyssa Bruchet, 5'10" MB, Ontario Christian HS, Ontario CA

Alumni:

The Triton Volleyball players below are continuing their athletic and academic careers at 4-yr institutions. We wish them the best of luck!

2009 Class

Mindy Rencher, OH, Oregon Institute of Technology
Kim Mulka, MB, Concordia University
Bridget Marasigan, DS, Northwest Christian University

2008 Class

Silver Keck, DS, Washington State University

2007 Class

Laura Mandegue, MB, SUNY Plattsburgh (State University of New York)

2008 Season Recap

The 2008 Edmonds CC Tritons volleyball team had an amazing season, finishing third overall in the NWAACC with a 38-12 record. Along the way, they won the North Division title with an 11-1 record. They were a highly decorated team, with sophomore Anya Silva being named North Division co-MVP, and first team all-NWAACC. Sophomore Mindy Rencher was also honored, as a first-team North Division selection, all-NWAACC and NWAACC All-academic. Sophomore Kim Mulka was a second team North Selection and all-academic as well. Finally, an unprecedented 5 Triton Sophomores participated in the NWAACC Sophomore All-star Showcase: Anya Silva, Mindy Rencher, Kim Mulka, Nicole Tuson, and Glenda Schuster. Congratulations to the Tritons for a wonderfully successful season.

At the post season team banquet, the Tritons honored several student-athletes:

Anya Silva was named Team MVP
Glenda Schuster was named Most Inspirational
Eileen Chatfield was named Most Improved
Mindy Rencher was given the Coaches Award

2008 Season Outlook

The 2008 version of the Edmonds CC Tritons volleyball team should be a significant improvement from the 2007 team – which had a successful season, finishing third in the North Division and qualifying for the NWAACC Championship Tournament – in addition, the 2007 team saw two sophomores named to the NWAACC All-Academic team (Janet Schumann, 3.78 & Silver Keck, 3.30) and Anya Silva named a North Region First team All-Star.

With experience at every position, 9 returning players, and a great group of incoming freshmen, the Tritons should be a contender for Division and League Championships in 2008.

A tough pre-season schedule will give the team some opportunities to test themselves early before the start of North Division competition. They open the season Labor Day Weekend in Albany, Oregon with a match against Linn-Benton and at the challenging Linn-Benton invitational – with 6 of the 8 teams in the tournament having participated in the 2007 NWAACC Championship Tournament. They then return to their pre-season home for a tournament September 5-6 at Juanita High School, featuring NWAACC Tournament participants Whatcom, Skagit Bellevue, Clackamas, Chemeketa, Pierce and Tacoma. A test against an NCAA DII team Northwest Nazarene University and Clark College follows on September 13th at Concordia of Portland.

Their home opener consists of two non-league matches on Wednesday, September 17th against West Division powerhouses Tacoma (3:00 PM) and Highline (6:00 PM). Their final pre-season test will be a Crossover tournament at Southwest Oregon CC. Their final pre-season match is September 22 at home versus the Edmonds Alumni. They open North Division play Wednesday, September 24th at Everett.

A closer look at the program shows that the Tritons will be a force to be reckoned with in 2008:

Intangibles

History shows that one of the strengths of many successful teams in the NWAACC is a great core of returning athletes. With 9 returners (7 started or were significant contributors) and a great group of 7 incoming freshmen, the 2008 Tritons expect to compete with the best in the NWAACC. Tony Miranda enters his second year as head coach and has a roster full of his recruits and high expectations. Tony has 8 years of collegiate experience (6 in the NWAACC and 2 at Seattle Pacific University) and is very active in the volleyball community as the Northwest Juniors Volleyball Club coach/director.

Miranda is optimistic for a good season and grateful for a dedicated group of student-athletes, “I can’t tell you how exciting it is to see these sophomores work hard on the court and in the classroom. They are taking the lead of the coaching staff and creating a culture of winning and high expectations in our program, which is being passed onto our incoming freshmen. This is creating what we hope will be a tradition of winning in the Triton Volleyball Program. We don’t expect to win just for this season; we expect to be great for years to come. Continuing to add great student-athletes to our program, and passing down the culture of winning will ensure this success.”

Setters

Three setters enter the season competing for the opportunity to lead the Triton offense in 2008 – all sophomores with previous playing experience. They are Glenda Schuster, who led the team in assists in 2007 and was second in digs, and is a member of the 2006 Daily Olympian’s all-area team (Timberline HS, Ohana VBC); Lauren Steenson, second in assists in 2007 (Battle Ground HS, Clark County Jrs), and Emily Price , whose season was shortened by injury (Juanita HS, Northwest Jrs). All three saw significant playing time in 2007 and battled hard during the spring. This will be the biggest battle for playing time all season.

Defensive Specialists

Probably the biggest strength of the 2007 team was team defense, as the Tritons held opponents to a .120 hitting percentage (6th in the NWAACC). The 2008 team’s defense is anchored by returning starting libero Anya Silva (Kentwood HS, KJVBC) who was a first team North Division all-star in 2007 and averaged 5.52 digs per game (third in the NWAACC) and was second on the team in aces; she was a highly decorated high school player (2006 All-State, Star Times All-area Team, and twice first team All SPSL).

Another cornerstone is Bridget Marasigan (Jackson HS, Northshore Jrs), first on the team in aces per game and fourth in digs with 1.55 digs per game. Adding to the strength of the team is incoming freshman Caitlin Sylvester (Bishop Blanchet, Northwest Jrs.) who was the starting libero for the Bishop Blanchet team that took 3rd in the 2007 and 1st in the 2006 3A state tournament.

Outside Hitters

One of the areas that needed improvement from the 2007 season was outside hitting, as the Tritons were near the bottom in attacking percentage last season. This will be a strength of the 2008 team as the returning players worked hard on improving their attacking and ball control and several key players were added to the mix – creating a very deep 7-person contingent of outside hitters.

Leading the group of outsides are returning starters Mindy Rencher (Idaho Falls HS, IFJ) a high school first team all-league player who led all Triton outside hitters in attacking percentage last year and Angela D’Amelio (Juanita HS, NW Juniors), who assumed the starting opposite position mid-season and was a steady contributor.

Also returning is Nicole Tuson (Black Hills HS/S. Sound Ohana) a very well-rounded player with size and athleticism who trained as a middle in the off-season and can play various positions – making her the most versatile athlete on the roster.

New additions to the team include Erin Thorlakson (CWU/Mountlake Terrace HS, NW Juniors) a transfer from Central Washington University, who trained with the Wildcats in 2007 and comes to Edmonds with two years of CC eligibility, Jessica Levine (Black Hills HS, S. Sound Ohana) a powerful attacker and member of the 8-person Daily Olympian’s All-area team, Eileen Chatfield (University HS, VIP Juniors) an experienced attacker who played all three front row positions in High School and Club but will train primarily as an Outside Hitter, and Kelsey Fleetwood (Mountlake Terrace HS) a local product who started three years for her high school program and was a late addition to the roster.

Middle Blockers

Another area of depth for the Tritons in 2008 will be Middle Blockers, as they return 6’ 3” starter Kim Mulka (Skyline HS, NW Juniors) who led the Tritons in blocks in 2007 and previously mentioned Nicole Tuson. Two new additions to the Triton program bring size and athleticism to Edmonds. They include Jaima McEwen (Walla Walla Valley Academy/WW Juniors) a 6’1” athlete who also trained as an outside hitter on her club and high school teams because of her great passing and serving skills; and Allison Christensen (Flathead HS/Flathead Jrs), the Montana State HS Javelin Champion, who is a great athlete with a lot of potential who will quickly develop into a regular contributor.