Thanks to a season-ending road trip that saw victories over 9-2 Whatcom and previously undefeated Edmonds Community College, the Bellevue Community College women’s volleyball team headed down to the NWAACC Tournament in Mount Hood playing its best volleyball of the season at just the right time.

The road to the championship game, which takes place today after the tournament opened play on Thursday, was made a bit easier for BCC, after the big road wins to close out the season. The victories clinched a second-place finish in the North Region for the Bulldogs.

“They were huge wins for us,” said BCC coach Kim Werkau, who was selected as the Co-Coach of the Year in the NWAACC. “Both of those teams beat us earlier in the season so it was huge getting back at them.”

The Bulldogs, who have only three sophomores on the team, struggled to find an identity in the beginning of the year, Werkau said, noting that the team of freshman “played like a team of freshman.”

“It took us a little bit to learn to play together,” she said. “It’s OK to start rough; it’s not OK to end rough.”

But things started to change after BCC hosted the Bellevue Crossover tournament Sept. 19-20, Werkau said.

“We started working a little bit better together,” she said. “Then we started putting it together out on the floor.”

The turnaround was aided by a pair of talented freshmen in outside hitter Savannah Feist and libero Patti Reeves. Both were selected as first-team players on the North Region all-league team.

Werkau calls Feist, a former standout at Kentwood High School, an MVP-calibar player.

“Savannah is in my opinion the best all-around player in the NWAACC to be honest with you,” Werkau said. “She’s an all-around player, mentally and physically. She’s just a powerhouse. She hits the ball and it hurts.”

And now that the Bulldogs are rolling - they have won three matches in a row, their last loss coming to undefeated Chemeketa of Salem, Ore., on Nov. 1 - Werkau sees good things in store for the tournament.

“This is a team that has experienced no drama,” she said. “They’re all here for the same reason. I see us in the championship game to be honest with you.”

The results of Thursday and Friday’s games were not available as of Reporter deadline. The double-elimination tournament began Thursday with BCC taking on Treasure Valley Community College.

BCC Notes

BCC’s Juleea Perez was voted to the second team North Region all-league volleyball team...the BCC soccer team had its season end with a 4-0 loss to Columbia Basin College on Nov. 15...the Bulldogs played without starting goalkeeper Kristina Myles due to a concussion suffered the week before...Krista Niklason finished 12th in the NWAACC scoring race with 13 goals and three assists on the year...Megan Dalgleish (3.38 GPA) and Jena Hickel (3.96 GPA) were named to the All-Academic Sports Team for women’s soccer...the Bulldogs men’s team ended the season after a 0-0 team saw the team fall 3-0 in a shootout to Walla Walla in the quarterfinals of the NWAACC tournament.

Joel Willits can be reached at 425-453-5045 or at jwillits@reporternewspapers.com.

Bellevue Reporter Sports Writer Joel Willits can be reached at jwillits@bellevuereporter.com or 425-453-5045.

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