Local volleyball talent put on display at Junior Olympics

Year after year, Washington state gains national recognition as a producer of some of the country’s top high school football and basketball talent. But, this week, a group of Issaquah and Sammamish area athletes will help the state gain more national exposure in another sport — volleyball. “(Recognition) has picked up in the recent years,” Issaquah High volleyball head coach Todd Parsons said. “Probably about 10 or 12 years ago nobody would have ever thought about any volleyball talent coming out of Washington.” Ten girls from the region — five from Eastside Catholic and five from Issaquah High School — are embarking to Miami, Fla. with their club teams for the 2009 Junior Olympic Volleyball Championships. “Every team worked their hardest to get to this point,” said Eastside Catholic’s Sarah Pacotine, whose Washington Volleyball Academy U-17 team earned an Open bid. “It’s like the big bang, you don’t always get to go. You earn the right to be there, and every other team wants it just as much as we do.” Along with Pacotine, four other Eastside Catholic players are headed to Miami with their club teams. Ellie Radich, who will play for the University of Pennsylvania next year, is a member of the Kent Junior Volleyball Club’s U-18 team. The group of area all-stars earned an Open bid — the highest of three levels of play at the Junior Olympics. There are only 28 teams from around the country who earned Open bids in each 14-18 year-old age division. Eastside’s Brooke Bachesta, who resides in Sammamish, will play with the Sudden Impact Volleyball U-17 team in the National division. The National and American classifications each contain 48 of the top teams from around the nation in 12-18 year-old divisions. Eastside’s Cami Silverman and Kameron McLain will play for the U-16 Washington Volleyball Academy team in the National division. Issaquah High is also sending five athletes. “That’s definitely the most I’ve ever had,” Parsons said. “It’s pretty cool.” Alyssa Schultz is on the Kent Junior Volleyball Club U-18 team which earned an Open bid. Stephanie Stoll is on the Sudden Impact Volleyball U-17 team, and Sarah Hanna, Rachel Roeder and Maddie Emerson are all on the Island Thunder Volleyball Club U-16 team that earned an Open bid. In all, there are 14 teams from Washington state competing at the Junior Olympics, which have different age groups competing at various times from June 26 to July 5. Silverman is one of two Eastside players who has gone before, making the trip the last three years. “It’s fun to compete with the other teams,” she said. “You might not necessarily win all the time, which is a bummer, but the fact of being able to compete with these really high-end teams is excitement in itself.” Bachesta is also looking forward to her second trip. “It’s going to be a big competition,” she said. “It’s the last big tournament with your team so obviously you all want to really do well, and go out with a bang.”

Contact Issaquah Reporter Assistant editor Kevin Endejan at kendejan@issaquah-reporter.com or 425-391-0363, ext. 5054.

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