VOLLEYBALL: Wide-open race to the top in SPSL North

More than at any point during the past decade, the race for the South Puget Sound League North Division title on the volleyball court appears to be up in the air.

“It really will be wide open,” said Kent-Meridian coach Michael Christiansen. “I think for a team to win our league, it has to go undefeated.”

If history is any indication – and it generally is – Christiansen is right on the money. Every SPSL North champion since 2002 has posted an unblemished league record. In fact, since 2000, the most losses the championship team has posted in league play is 1 – when Kentlake and Kentridge tied for the top spot with identical 7-1 marks. That said, however, every team that has taken the crown since 2003 has won it at least twice in a row and, in the case of Kentwood (2005-2008), multiple times.

So who’s it going to be this year?

According to league coaches, Auburn Riverside is the odds on favorite, though not by much. The Ravens get the nod based on the simple fact that they return more first-team all-league choices – setter Brooke Bradbury and outside hitter Maureen Sachs – than any one of their North counterparts.

“It all depends on if we stay healthy,” said Auburn Riverside coach Chris Leverenz, whose team took third at state a year ago. “I think volleyball is a little bit cyclical. You get really good classes in waves.”

Those waves have come in spurts for a handful of SPSL North programs. For Kentlake, that wave came from 2000-2002, when the Falcons won three straight SPSL North titles, and three state championships. Auburn Riverside followed with a pair of league crowns only to be dethroned by Kentwood, which went on to win the next four before the Ravens ended that run in 2009. It’s also worth noting that during Kentwood’s four-year run of dominance, Kentlake finished in second each of those seasons.

And though the Ravens are favored, the league is – on paper – ripe for the taking. The biggest reason for that, however, is because no clear-cut dominant player – like AR’s Brooke Bray did a year ago – has emerged.

“I think Auburn and Kent-Meridian both have some really good talent,” said Kentwood coach Bil Caillier, whose team hasn’t finished any lower than third in the SPSL North standings since 2000. “I think we’ll be good, but we won’t be as dominant as we’ve been in the past.”

As the season unfolds, it has become clear that the SPSL North is going through a transition. Of the 35 players who earned all-league accolades a year ago – first team, second team or honorable mention – 25 graduated. In fact, only three first-team selections from a year ago returned this fall, Kentwood’s Erin Campbell along with Bradbury and Sachs.

“For us (to win league), it’s all a matter of playing as a group,” noted Christiansen, whose Royals haven’t brought home the league’s top spot since 1994.

But playing as a group may take a while this fall as all of the teams took considerable hits from graduation. Tahoma, which qualified for state last year for the first time since 1976, may have been hit hardest by graduation, losing eight players, including standout Maria Bahlenhorst. Kentridge, however, wasn’t far behind, losing seven players followed by Auburn (6), Auburn Riverside (5) while Kentwood and Kent-Meridian each graduated three. Then, of course, there’s this year’s wild-card team: Mount Rainier. Mount Rainier, which finished in the middle of the Class 3A Seamount League last fall, lost five players to graduation and now must contend with an SPSL North that annually advances at least two teams – if not more – to state.

“I think whichever team finds that (dominant) player, will emerge,” Christiansen said.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Erin Campbell, Kentwood; Cherene O’Hara, Kent-Meridian; Brooke Bradbury, Auburn Riverside; Maureen Sachs, Auburn Riverside; Isia Johnson, Auburn; Allison Wuerch, Auburn Riverside; Victoria Labrie, Kentridge; Megan Hartnett, Kentlake; Rachelle Frets, Tahoma; Kendall Sanders, Kentridge; Kasie Seims, Kentwood.