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Last Updated: Dec 12th, 2007 - 14:11:56 |
Marla Gleave accomplished what she set out to do, and now she and the College of the Redwoods volleyball team are poised to reap the rewards.
Gleave, the former head coach for the women’s basketball team, took over the volleyball team last year after the program was cut in 2005 because the team didn’t field enough players. Nine players were on the team last year, and Gleave’s hope was that if she kept “four or five players,” she could put together a roster every year.
She got her wish and then some.
McKinleyville’s Breah Smith, San Diego’s Camille Hart, Idaho’s Cody Smith and Fort Bragg’s Pam Deiter all stuck around for their sophomore seasons and the Lady Corsairs will be all the stronger this year for it.
“We have a great core group back,” said Gleave, whose assistant coach Dan Calderwood is a volunteer and a big reason why the program got off the ground again. “Both Dan and I feel like we’re at an end-of-October level if you compare it to last year. We feel like we’re moving ahead.”
And it’s showing.
In their season opener at American River on Friday, the Corsairs went to a fifth game, where they eventually lost 15-13. While the loss was disappointing, the way CR played showed promise.
In 105-degree heat, Redwoods dropped the first game, but came back to win the next two before dropping sets four and five.
“It was a wonderfully played match,” Gleave said. “In the fifth game, we just hit the road and gassed out. Our serving killed us.”
While the heat beat CR physically, with a core of returners, Gleave is excited about where the team will be mentally because of their experience.
“It’s big because they know the ins and outs more of college ball and it’s just a step up in mentality of what it takes to play college valleyball,” she said. “The sophomores return more comfortable in their own shoes and the shoes of the program. I’m very pleased with my four.”
Redwoods has a group of freshmen that will contribute in a big way and the team has undergone some position and assignment changes to better suit the players’ skill levels.
They will get to show them off in cool weather on their own court Tuesday when the Corsairs host South Western Community College at 7 p.m.
© Copyright College of the Redwoods
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