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North eyes giving Gophers a history lesson By Greg Stiles Is it possible for history to repeat? The North Medford Black Tornado hopes so. Three years ago, North Medford shocked perennial volleyball powerhouse Gresham in the quarterfinals of the state tournament at the Chiles Center in Portland and went on to claim third place. This time around, the No. 4 Tornado finds itself matched against the No. 2 Gophers right out of the chute when they meet at noon Friday in the opening round of the tournament. North reached the tournament directly by winning the Southern Oregon Conference. Gresham, the Mount Hood Conference�s runner-up, waltzed past Lebanon, 15-0, 15-2, last Friday. North and Gresham clashed in the semifinals of the Clearwater Classic in Bend last month. Gresham won in easy fashion that night, 15-2, 15-13. But that could be an advantage. "We have more to prove than they do," says North�s senior setter Kaci Maldonado. "We�re the underdog. There�s no weight on our shoulders. But once we beat them that will set the tone for the rest of the tournament." North coach Ron Beick says serving will be critical against the Gophers. In the earlier meeting, Tornado serves proved too easy to pass. "If we serve a lot tougher, we can keep them out of their offense," Beick says. Another thing the Gophers do is draw blocks to the middle then back set close to the antenna. "We�re used to blocking the middle," Beick says. "At Bend, we weren�t used to blocking the right, because no one in our league runs that. We�re better prepared because we know what their tendencies are." Neither team is reliant on one or two hitters to carry the day. Jill Carrigan led North with 209 kills, Kendra Mitchell had 207 and Chaley Higgins coupled 179 kills with 76 blocks for points. Mitchell had 71 and Candace Fleener 47. Kara Hwang registered 189 digs to go with 108 kills, while Carrigan collected 171 digs. Maldonado pulled up 151 digs to go with 10.38 assists per game � second best on the school�s all-time list. Three Gresham players � sophomore outside hitter Sarah Leenders, sophomore middle blocker Abby Windell and junior setter Sheena Surplus � have sisters who went on to play major college ball. The Gophers� premier player might be senior outside hitter Katie O�Neil. "It�s the little things that win the match for one side or another," Beick says. "How we serve, how we play defense and how we adjust to what the other team does is going to determine the outcome. I�m expecting a three-game brawl. You have to be good and a little lucky. "It�s unfortunate that it�s not a semifinal match." Roseburg earned its way in the tournament field last Saturday with a 15-7, 15-3 victory over Marshfield in the playoffs. The Indians play Intermountain Conference champion Crook County at 8:30 a.m. The irony of sweeping through the Southern Oregon Conference just to earn a date against the Gophers isn�t lost on North coach Ron Beick. He was quick to note that Roseburg had a far better draw after the Tornado defeated the Indians to complete conference play 14-0. "We both won," Beick said, referring to Roseburg�s relatively easy draw. Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4483, or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.