Women’s Volleyball Sweeps Alumni In 4th Annual Scrimmage

Reggie Thompson
The Paw Print

Saturday night marked the night of the fourth Annual Adams State Alumni Volleyball Scrimmage, in which the current Grizzlies swept the alumni in the five games played.
In it’s fourth year, this match is still enjoyable for those involved. Head Coach Lindy Mortensen, who coached many of the alumni players said simply that “it’s fun to see everyone.”
Each of the women of the alumni team have gone on to find jobs and start families, but still hold on to the memories of playing volleyball here at Adams State.
Take Defensive Specialist Lisa Crowther (Class of 2003), Setter Monica  Ashley (formerly Monica Garcia; Class of 2005), and Outside Hitter Tiffany Hawkins (formerly Tiffany Stockebrand; class of 2008) for example.  Crowther who is  currently  a fourth grade teacher, fondly remembers having conversations [with teammates] during  road trips.  Ashley is now a married stay-at-home mom with two kids and also finds time to coach seventh and eighth grade volleyball.  She enjoyed having Cheesecake Factory cheesecake every time the team was near one of the restaurant locations.  Hawkins, in addition to raising three kids with her husband, is an employee at Asphalt Constructors Inc.   Her favorite memory is of the feeling of accomplishing her dreams.
Also on the team were Libero Jocelyn Garcia,Middle Hitter Kallee (Bingham) Spilker,  (Class of 2006), Emily Bussey (Class of 2007), OH Bridget Brownell, MH Tamara Fowler, and S Mary McNeil (Class of 2011).
The Grizzlies got to a fast start over their opponents taking a 6-0 lead in the first game, before the alumni could settle down and start producing points, but for the whole evening, ASC had control.  They won games 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, 25-18, 25-17, 25-17, 25-19, and finally 15-11 in that order. No official statistics were released.
Post-game, Mortensen acknowledged the positive traits that her team showed, but is still aware of the weaknesses.
“We’re a balanced team… I’m happy with our ball control and [the play] of our back row,” the sixth year head coach states.  “[But] we need to work on getting a consistent lineup and finding our most consistent players.”
Coming up for Adams State are two exhibition tournaments: the West Texas A&M Tournament on September 2-3 in Canyon, Texas and the Holiday Inn Crossroads Classic on Sep. 9-10 in Grand Junction, Colo.