Volleyball game puts viewers on edge

The Mt. Hood volleyball team continued its up-and-down play so far this season, with two wins and two losses in an eight-team tournament hosted by Clackamas Community College on Sept. 17-18.

MHCC beat Clackamas and Wenatchee Valley, 3 games to 0 in each, before falling 3-2 to both Grays Harbor and Linn-Benton.

That pushed the Saints’ record to 11-12 overall, prior to two away matches set for Sept. 23-24 against Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) division rivals Umpqua and Southwestern Oregon.

A few days earlier, the Saints battled on their home court on back-to-back nights.

On Sept. 15, Mt. Hood fought hard against Grays Harbor but in the end took the loss. Saints took the first game, 25–21, after a grueling back-and-forth struggle. The second and third games were also intense. Both teams struggled to edge into the winning position. Spectators in the stands were on edge, hoping to see their team get the next point. Grays Harbor took both, 26-24 and 25-20.

When it finally came to the fourth game, the Chokers smashed the Saints 25-14, taking the match, 3-1.

First-year Saints head coach Kim Lissinna said afterward, “We had played them earlier this season and beat them so we knew they were a good team. We knew who their big hitters were and had a game plan going into it – unfortunately they played better than us tonight.”

Lissinna said the team would learn, and look past it to get ready for their next game, the following day.

Sure enough, Friday’s contest ended in Saints domination. The Saints won all three games against South Puget Sound, 25-20, 25-11 and 25-15, for a 3-0 win.

For Lissinna, an assistant under Andrew Clifton at Mt. Hood before he took another coaching job this summer, it’s been a quick transition.

“Honestly, right now the season is going a little bit better than I anticipated us doing this early,” she said. The new coach did a lot of late recruiting and didn’t get to see everyone play in person before joining the team, she said. The team is also made up of a large number of freshman.

Lissinna believes the team will play even better after hitting NWAC league play, saying that “for some reason, once it really actually matters, the girls tend to play much better.”

This is Lissinna’s first collegiate head coaching job. She describes her new position as “an incredible experience and a great opportunity.” Being in the program the last two years has “helped a lot with knowing how the school functions and so it’s a little bit less stressful.” Knowing the returning students from last year along with other points of contact in the school and in the NWAC has made her transition easier, too.

So far the new coach’s only “bump in the road” has been hiring an assistant coach late. It was a “little bit longer of a process than I anticipated,” said Lissinna. “I’m really happy with who we ended up hiring [though], she’s a great fit for me and a great fit for the program.”

That new assistant is Ver’leea Hardaway, who played at Washington State University before starting a coaching career.

The next home match for Mt. Hood will be this Friday at 6:30 p.m. against Lane Community College.

Students, staff, and faculty members get into the game for free, and are welcome to come out and support the Saints