SAINTS WRAP UP WINNING SEASON

The 2021 volleyball season has come to an end for the MHCC Saints, who made it to the NWAC Championship Tournament.

The Saints’ record for the season in conference play was 11-5, and 13-8 in all contests. That earned them fourth place in the nine-team South Region.

They played three times in the 16-team, double-elimination playoff hosted by Pierce College in Lakewood, Washington. Only half of the Northwest Athletic Conference’s 32 teams qualified for the tournament.

Mt. Hood lost to the host squad, Pierce College, 3 sets to 0, in its Nov. 13 tournament opener but then defeated Yakima Valley, winning 3 sets to 1. The team then fell again to Pierce, 3-1, the following day to finish its season.

Three Saints players earned All-Star honors: freshmen Josie Jansen and Heidi Norman, and sophomore Samantha Brewster.

A key moment for the Saints in the season was beating a tough Rogue Community College team at home on Oct. 15. This was a confidence builder, part of a six-match winning streak and a win that motivated them to keep striving and working hard, said Kirsten Day, first-year MHCC head coach.

Some goals for next season include improving the team’s league record and making it to Elite 8 round of the championship.

“I’m really looking forward to next season,” said Day, who played volleyball at MHCC in the 1980s and later earned an associate degree in criminal justice at the school, on her way to a bachelor’s degree in human development.

Day said she’s thrilled to be at Mt. Hood. She enjoys getting to know the players, as well as being competitive and growing as a family. One big hope for the 2022 season is building a bigger following, COVID rules permitting.

“We’re hoping to get more spectators next season. We want people to come and watch,” she said.