Ridgefield coach Sabrina Dobbs, left, works hard to keep her team's energy up during matches so that they play their best. (Amanda Cowan/The Columbian)Photo Gallery
The Ridgefield volleyball team has size and skill.
It also has Sarena Bartley’s laugh.
“It echoes throughout the whole gym,” senior setter Bella Gama said of her teammate. “Games are like roller coasters. You have high points and low points. But I feel like Sarena always picks us up.”
This season, Ridgefield hopes to laugh its way to a state volleyball title. The Spudders graduated just one senior from a team that placed third in last year’s Class 2A state tournament.
Ridgefield has last year’s 2A Greater St. Helens League MVP in senior Madi Harter.
The 5-foot-7 outside hitter rolls with an imposing crew. Five players stand 5-foot-10 or taller.
“We are a big team for a high school team,” Harter said. “We have a big front row. It’s cool to walk into the gym and be the bigger team.”
Tallest among them is Bartley, a senior outside hitter. The roster lists her at 6-foot-3, though she admits she is actually an inch shorter.
No matter. She makes the whole team stand taller with that laugh.
And that might play a role in whether Ridgefield reaches its state championship goal. Coach Sabrina Dobbs said her team plays best when players feed off each other’s energy and emotion.
“They know how to play volleyball,” Dobbs said. “It’s just making sure that their energy is up during every game they play this season.”
Ridgefield brought energy to last year’s state tournament. The team also had a lightbulb moment in the quarterfinals, when the Spudders beat pretournament favorite Archbishop Murphy of Everett.
“It was a chance for them to see that they can be better than what they think they are,” Dobbs said. “They also started to think outside the box. That’s hard when you’re used to doing the same thing and always being in the same spot. But they adjusted to what the other hitters were doing. That’s how we were able to get past Archbishop Murphy.”
Since then, most of Ridgefield’s players have adhered to a rigorous physical training program. According to Dobbs, several have improved their vertical leap.
There’s also a fludity that comes with having seven seniors who have played together since before high school.
“When you have Bella setting and they start clicking, it’s unstoppable,” Dobbs said. “They’re running stuff that I didn’t even teach them. They’re just telling each other ‘set me this way or that.’ ”
Harter, Gama and Bartley give Ridgefield three returning first-team all-league seniors. Senior libero Maddy Campbell and junior middle blocker Anika Nicoll were second-team all-league.
Ridgefield hopes to keep piling up the honors this season.
And share a few laughs along the way.
Five things to watch this volleyball season
Can Battle Ground stay on top? — You don’t just replace a player like Brooke Van Sickle. The two-time Columbian All-Region player of the year is now at the University of Oregon after leading Battle Ground to back-to-back state semifinal appearances. The Tigers also graduated another Division I player in Ashley Watkins, who is at the University of Montana. But coach Cheyanne Knight has spent the past five seasons building a program with an eye on year-to-year consistency. Behind first-team all-league libero Hana Wyles, the Tigers hope to remain among the region’s top teams.
Doerfler returns to Prairie — When Andrea Doerfler last coached Prairie, she led the Falcons to the Class 3A state championship in 2012. Now Doerfler is back after coaching solely at the club level for a few years. She takes over a talented team that graduated just three players after reaching state last year.
Rebuilding at River — Battle Ground isn’t the only team trying to replace multiple collegiate-level players. Columbia River reached last year’s 3A state title game behind Evi Wilson (Montana State), Page Heller (Colorado State-Pueblo) and Esti Wilson (College of Southern Idaho). Now in the 2A GSHL, new coach Breanne Smedley has a group of eight seniors led by returning first-team all-league middle blocker Abby Wilmington.
Who will join 4A playoff party? — Skyview and Camas both have potential to reach the state tournament. Camas handed Battle Ground its only regular-season loss last year. The Papermakers lost just four seniors and have a talented duo in 6-foot outside hitter Keelie LeBlanc and setter Aubrey Stanton, who both earned second-team all-league honors last year as sophomores. Skyview’s chances seemingly took a hit when first-team all-leaguer Kaila Robinson was lost for the season with a knee injury. But the Storm started the year with a 3-0 win over Columbia River and have a returning first-team all-league setter in Peyton Timmons.
Who will top the Trico? — Kalama went 36-1 in the 1A Trico League over the past three seasons. But Kalama is now a Class B school, leaving an opening atop the Trico for King’s Way Christian and La Center. King’s Way lost just three seniors from a team that finished second in the Trico and reached the second day of the state tournament. La Center has perhaps the league’s best returning player in libero Abby England, who averaged 19.2 digs per match last season en route to first-team all-league honors.
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