The Star - News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area

Lady Raider volleyball opened the 2013 season at the Davenport Invitational where they faced perennial state competitors and fought hard against a 1A school and last season’s Central Washington 2B North champion.

“There were some really tough teams from the Bi County,” Raider Head Coach Nate Piturachsatit commented on the matches against the Davenport Gorillas and Odessa-Harrington Titans. “They were very challenging for us.”

In both matches, the Lady Raiders were unable to win a game. The Gorillas finished fourth last year in the 2B State Tournament and the Titans took 5th in the 1B tourney.

In the match against 1A Medical Lake, the Lady Raiders took the second game and kept the other two games close. Against Bridgeport, LR took the first game in convincing fashion, stayed close in the second, and just fell short in the third game.

Piturachsatit liked the effort he saw on the court and how the team came alive in the last two matches. For Coach Pituraschsatit, this was a successful opening tournament. “It was good to have this jamboree to see how players do and to see what roles need to be filled,” he said.

The coach liked what he saw out of his middle blockers Holly Jo Carriere and Kassidi Boutain. “They went after the ball and were able to score a lot of points for us,” he noted.

Kammi Rosenbaum led the team in scoring with 16 service points. Holly Jo Carriere was second with 11 service points. Both served with over 80-percent success from the line.

The Lady Raiders will work on their attack and transitions as they prepare for the next match of the season tomorrow at Coulee Dam against the Waterville Shockers. The Shockers lost out last season in the first round of the District 6 1B tournament. In last season’s match between the Shockers and the Lady Raiders, the match went to five games, with the Lady Raiders squeaking out a 3-2 victory.