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Grizzlies nab state awards MT file photo Chelsea Morgan (10) helped Ashland win the SOC and advance to the state semifinals. Here she's with Amy Williams, who received honorable mention. Rohlfing top coach, Morgan on first team By GREG STILES Not long ago, Josh Rohlfing was the youngest volleyball coach in the state. Now the 25-year-old Ashland mentor is simply Oregon coach of the year by vote of his Class 4A peers. Rohlfing's Grizzlies swept through the Southern Oregon Conference with a 14-0 record and advanced to the state semifinals before falling to two-time state champion West Linn. Eventually, Ashland wound up sixth in the tournament. "It (the award) definitely took me by surprise," admits Rohlfing, who completed his third year with the Grizzlies. "I hadn't given it any thought. You end the season and if you don't win it all, it's frustrating. You sit around thinking about that. All of the sudden, the accolades start coming in for the kids, and that was neat." Ashland senior setter Chelsea Morgan was a first-team selection, while teammate Amy Williams, a senior middle blocker, gained honorable mention. Roseburg junior outside hitter Megan Morley was a third-team choice. It was the second year in a row that an SOC coach has been honored. North Medford's Ron Beick was coach of the year in 1998. While Beick has been in the business more than two decades, Rohlfing didn't graduate from high school until 1992. Even though football, basketball and track were his sports of choice at North Valley High in Merlin, Rohlfing was already fascinated by volleyball. His sister, Debbie, played on North Valley's 1985 Class 3A state runner-up team. It was while watching those teams that the sport caught his eye. "What sparked my interest was that it was so different," says Rohlfing, who was a sixth-grader at the time. "I had played football, basketball, baseball, soccer and all those things throughout childhood. The movement was so different." He played sand volleyball as a teenager, but he was greatly inspired while visiting his sister in San Diego. "That was the hotbed for volleyball in the U.S.," he says. "I met Olympians and some of the better players. The sport was not well known, but I was watching amazing athletes." Former North Valley boys basketball coach Harold Dabbs and ex-football coach Jeff Richard contributed greatly to his coaching style, Rohlfing says. He intended to play basketball at Lane Community College, but that went by the wayside after he took a volleyball class. His teacher, Lori Thomas, invited him to work with her 14-year-old club team. Thus began his coaching career. A year later, he coached his own 16- and 18-year-old teams. The summer before he transferred to Southern Oregon University, he showed up for a summer camp run by the Raiders' Paul Elliott and former Ashland coach John Weston. "I just wanted to move tables and help out," he recalls. "The next day, they hired me for the whole week of camp. When it was over, Paul asked me to stay on and be one of his assistants." His timing was impeccable because Southern Oregon opened the 1994 season in Hawaii. "The next summer I went to a ton of clinics and studied anything I could about volleyball," he says. He was ticketed to coach the Phoenix High freshmen, but varsity coach Laura Bleiberg decided to join Beick's staff at North Medford. Before she left, Bleiberg suggested to Phoenix principal Jeff Schlecht that Rohlfing would be a good choice to take over the program. The biggest question his prospective employers had, Rohlfing says, was whether a 21-year-old man should be coaching girls close to his age. They were uneasy; he assured them there would be no problems. "I told them I'm not going to do anything to jeopardize my career," he says. "The rest was history. They gave me a chance to prove what I could do, and I kept being a student of the game." He coached two seasons at Phoenix before moving to Ashland after Weston stepped down. Morgan thrived under Rohlfing's tutelage, earning first-team SOC honors three years in a row and being named player of the year this fall. Morgan is weighing her future, balancing academic prospects with her love for volleyball and basketball. Most recently, she visited the Portland State campus. But she may wind up at Dartmouth College. "It doesn't matter what you're playing," says Rohlfing. "It could be backgammon and she'd adjust to the level. It's funny, she's a great person in that regard. It's all been said before, but you don't see that kind of person very often." Rohlfing is wrapping up the work on his degree in health promotion and fitness management. He doesn't teach and has no desire to do so. Although he has "every plan of being here" for the 2000 season, Rohlfing's career opportunities may eventually take him elsewhere. "There's nothing drawing me out of here," he says. "When I decide to step down or leave, the program will be fine." All-state volleyball CLASS 4A FIRST TEAM -- Courtney Bush, Barlow 6-0, Sr. Julie Grauert, Jesuit 5-9, Jr. Laurie Brands, Marshfield 6-0, Sr. Chelsea Morgan, Ashland 5-11, Sr. Danielle Jansen, West Linn 5-9, Sr. Whitney Arena, West Linn 5-10, Jr. Kari Jones, Hermiston Sr. 5-10. SECOND TEAM -- Megan Kaysinger, Central Catholic 5-11, Jr. Stacy Duncan, Lakeridge 5-10, Sr. Sara Pilgreen, Thurston 5-10, Sr. Amanda Larsen, North Bend 5-11, Jr. Celeste Jones, Oregon City 6-0, Jr. Lauren Jones, Central Catholic 5-10, Sr. THIRD TEAM -- Lizzy Safranski, St. Mary-s 5-9, Jr. Elizabeth Lawrence, West Linn 5-6, Sr. Katie Grim, South Salem 6-2, Sr. Andrea Beck, Canby 5-10, Sr. Megan Morely, Roseburg 5-11, Jr. Ericka Brunson, Central Catholic 5-10, Jr. Katie Harrison, Jesuit 5-7, Sr. Amy Nevills, Reynolds 5-10, Sr. HONORABLE MENTION -- Katy Smith, North Bend, Sr.; Stephanie Burnham, Wilson, Sr.; Amy Williams, Ashland, Sr.; Kristin Purscelley, Springfield, Jr.; Natalie Hand, McNary, Sr.; Elizabeth MacAuslund, Lakeridge, Sr.; Kim Caudell, Hermiston, Sr.; Megan Ogden, Barlow, Sr. Player of the Year -- Courtney Bush, Barlow. Coach of the Year -- Josh Rohlfing, Ashland CLASS 3A FIRST TEAM -- Casey Evans, Marist 6-0, Sr. Heidi McGregor, Estacada 5-8, Sr. Katie Jo Kelly, Rainier So. Amy Shank, Sweet Home 5-6, Sr. Nina Bakos, La Salle 5-7, Sr. Jamie Carmichael, Marist 5-10, Sr. Lindsay Aitchason, Bandon Sr. Shari Pimental, Marist. SECOND TEAM -- Breanna Maupin, Henley 5-10, Jr. Emily Hutchinson, Newport 6-0, Sr. Nicole Gesik, Marist 5-10, Sr. Tiffany Mapston, Valley Catholic 5-6, Jr. Brandi McElfresh, Henley 5-4, Sr. Kathy Gellatly, Philomath 5-8, Sr. Jamie Ruda, Lakeview 5-5, Jr. THIRD TEAM -- Krista Gardinier, Sisters 5-11, Jr. Kelsey Gederas, Coquille 5-5, Sr. Linn Bergman, Clatskanie 5-7, Sr. Lindsey Peila, Burns 5-5, Sr. Kristi Albertson, Lakeview 5-5, Jr. Katie Branch, Vale 5-7, Sr. Kelli Kettles, Philomath 5-10, Jr. HONORABLE MENTION -- Kim West, Philomath, Sr.; Jennifer Thueson, Waldport, Sr.; Kehanne Kirkpatrick, Rainier, Jr.; Sara Reilly, Molalla, So.; Heidi Stewart, Waldport, Jr.; Tara Andrews, Rainier, So.; Erin Dougherty, Coquille, Sr. Player of the Year -- Casey Evans, Marist Coach of the Year -- Shari Pimental, Marist Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.