Wednesday, Sep. 09, 2009

Season preview: Richland volleyball bettin' on Bettinson

By Rene Ferran, Herald staff writer

RICHLAND -- Krysta Olberding doesn't need to be told of the Richland volleyball program's historical struggles.

Every day when the senior setter enters Art Dawald Gym, she's reminded by one glaring omission.

"There are no banners up here," she said, pointing to the rafters and the banners representing a Richland team's state appearance. "But we have the potential to be great this year."

Indeed, this may be the year the Bombers finally make their inaugural appearance at a state tournament. They return nine players, including Olberding and four other starters, from a team that reached regionals last fall.

But the biggest reason for this optimism, according to CBBN coaches, is junior middle blocker Chelsey Bettinson.

"She's the show," said Chiawana coach Jim Steach. "They're doing a good job setting her the ball, and she's hitting the crap out of it."

While Bettinson may squirm in the spotlight, wanting to deflect it toward her teammates, it deservedly shines brightest on her.

Named one of the top sophomores in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com after earning All-Area first-team honors last fall, Bettinson shined for the Columbia Juniors club program over the summer.

Bettinson, who stands a slender 6-foot-1, has drawn interest from WSU, Washington, Notre Dame and Hawaii.

If she ends up with the Rainbow Wahine, she'd follow in the footsteps of another lithe middle from the Tri-Cities -- former Kamiakin standout Victoria Prince, who went on to earn All-America honors in Honolulu.

Braves coach Mary Opitz said the comparison between Bettinson and Prince is an apt one.

"When I saw Chelsey play last year, I thought, 'Wow, she's going to be good,' " Opitz said. "And if she's playing like this as a junior, she's going to be really good."

Bettinson played soccer as a youngster, but after a growth spurt -- she grew almost 6 inches to 5-11 in eighth grade -- she switched to volleyball, a sport with which she was familiar after tagging long with her parents, Mike and Valerie, to adult league matches.

"We were always peppering in the backyard," Bettinson said. "So when I grew a ton, I decided to give it a try, and I just loved it."

That didn't mean the sport loved her back right away.

Olberding remembers when she first saw Bettinson two years ago -- as a freshman who swung between JV and varsity until being called up full-time at midseason.

"She was so awkward. She really was," Olberding said, smiling. "She was tall and lanky, and you could tell she was nervous."

Richland coach Bob Raidl has been a family friend for years, and he felt for his new prodigy.

"She had the talent, but she lacked the confidence to know she could be pretty good," Raidl said. "She also was adapting to the speed and power of the varsity game, and to her own body. She wasn't immediately comfortable."

Bettinson spent all of the summer of 2008 playing club ball and "finally getting down what I was supposed to be doing on the court," she said.

The results were apparent immediately. "Two years ago, we just picked on her at districts," said Steach, who then was coaching at Pasco. "Last year, you could see she'd made some real nice strides."

This summer, playing for Blue Mountain coach Dave Baty on the Columbia Juniors U-16 Black team, Bettinson could focus more on some of the nuances of her game.

"We worked on my arm swing, for one," Bettinson explained. "I have a tendency to windmill it, and he got me to be more compact."

She still might wind up for a big swing when she gets excited -- perhaps a match point at the state tournament.

"That's our team goal," Bettinson said. "We want to put our banner up there."

Volleyball at a glance

CBBN

2008 champions: Kamiakin (regular season and 4A district); West Valley (3A district).

Returning all-leaguers: Tori Fisher, sr., Eisenhower (1T hitter); Andrea Smith, jr., Southridge (1T setter); Kelsey Julian, jr., Kennewick (2T hitter); Karis Gamache, sr., Pasco (2T hitter); Chelsey Bettinson, jr., Richland (2T hitter); Heather Worley, sr., Southridge (2T hitter); Krysta Olberding, sr., Richland (2T setter); Holly Gale, sr., Eastmont (2T libero).

New coaches: Jim Steach, Chiawana (moves from Pasco); Kylie Sixkiller, Pasco (moves from Davis); Lindsey Dollente, Davis; Carrie Antonovich, Hanford.

Quick sets: The consensus among the league's coaches is that there is no consensus favorite for the title. No one figures to roll through the schedule as Kamiakin did last season en route to the league and district titles and a second-place finish at 4A state.

Richland, which won its only district title in 2007, returns almost everyone from last year's regional qualifier, while Ike has a couple top hitters in Fisher and MB Kayla Randles but needs to replace S Kelsey Dix. The Braves graduated almost all their key contributors from last year's state runner-up, but S Paige Wamboldt and OH Kristi Beyer now get their chance in the spotlight. Worley and Smith lead a Southridge team hungry to erase last year's regional flameout. Wenatchee and Chiawana rate as sleepers -- the latter a testament to the respect his fellow coaches give Steach and his ability to churn out winning programs on a regular basis while at Pasco. Kennewick has a strong 1-2 punch in the middle with Julian and junior Kaytlyn Coleman.

CWAC

2008 champions: Selah (North regular season and district); Grandview (South regular season).

Returning all-leaguers: Erin Smith, sr., Selah (1T hitter); Annie Martinez, sr., East Valley (1T hitter); Angelica Yarlott, sr., Wapato (1T hitter); Jamie Allison, sr., Selah (2T setter); Bailey Carlson, sr., Ellensburg (2T hitter); Kylee Mollotte, sr., Othello (2T hitter).

New coaches: Darci Dekker, East Valley (replaces Sue Cullen); Dean Spurbeck, Othello (replaces Steve Parris); Pam Young, Quincy (replaces Jeanne Brindle); Emily Peterson, Ephrata (replaces Charlotte Throgmorton); Wendy Meirndorf, Prosser (replaces Mark Sundberg).

Quick sets: Selah again should be favored to win the league title, but never count out Grandview despite the Hounds graduating All-Area MB Kinzi Poteet and two other all-league standouts (S Vanessa Medina, MB Sydney Mottice). Othello, coming off its first-ever state appearance, graduated All-Area MB Allison Walker but could still contend for the third berth with Ellensburg and East Valley.

SCAC East

2008 champions: River View (regular season); Goldendale (West regular season and district).

Returning all-leaguers: Michelle McGary, jr., Connell (1T libero); Paige Woodward, sr., Royal (1T hitter/setter); Hannah Pierce, jr., Columbia (Burbank) (2T setter); Kacey Kisler, sr., Warden (2T hitter); Caitlin Paysse, sr., Royal (2T hitter).

New coaches: Chad Crombie, River View (replaces Katie Gaumer); McKenzie Garberg, Kiona-Benton (replaces Andrea Dobson).

Quick sets: A lot of firepower graduated from the league, leaving young squads with untested players in a wide-open battle for the title. River View, which has won four of the last five East titles, lost All-Area MB Becky Flores among four all-league graduates. Garberg, who led Ki-Be to the 2002 state title and was All-Area MVP three times, hopes to lead the Bears back to prominence.

Southeast 2B/1B

2008 champions: Tekoa-Oakesdale (North regular season and 2B district); LaCrosse-Washtucna (1B district); Liberty Christian (South regular season).

Returning South all-leaguers: Second team: Caitlin Duncan, sr., DeSales; Sydney Disselkamp, sr., Tri-Cities Prep; Sandy Avalos, jr., WWVA.