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Grizz nabs second at state preview tourney Prep volleyball ALBANY -- Ashland came within one match of completing a phenomenal run through the State Preview Volleyball Tournament at South Albany High School Saturday, finishing second to second - ranked West Linn. West Linn triumphed over the Grizzlies, 15-3, 15-7, in the final of a tournament featuring seven of the state's top 10 ranked teams and 16 teams in all. The championship match began about 20 minutes after Ashland, ranked sixth, upset top-ranked Central Catholic in the semifinals, 8-15, 16-14, 15-13. "This was a big step for us," said Grizzly coach Josh Rohlfing, whose team improved to 15-3 overall, including a front-running 6-0 in the Southern Oregon Conference. "It's funny because up until this point, even though we've been winning and been successful, our confidence hasn't necessarily been there. "It's great to watch a group of young girls mature throughout a day." Among the teams Ashland knocked off was Roseburg, its closest pursuer in the SOC. The Grizzlies won 15-9, 15-11 in bracket play over the Indians, who turnaround and visit Ashland in a league match Tuesday. North and South Medford also participated in the tournament. In pool play, the Grizzlies defeated Lebanon 15-6, 15-6, Tualatin 15-10, 15-4 and Mountain View 15-11, 15-3. In bracket play, the win over Roseburg sent Ashland into the semis against No. 1 Central Catholic. When the title match started shortly after that match, the Grizz wasn't ready. "Emotionally, we just weren't there," said Rohlfing. "The West Linns, the Central Catholics, the Barlows, they're used to playing those big matches consecutively. It's important for us to get over that hump." Statistics from the matches weren't available, but the Grizzlies got stellar play from middles Rachel Karlin and Amy Williams, setter Chelsea Morgan and outside hitter Loriana Berman. ST. MARY'S WINS TWO --The Zielony sisters were double trouble for Lost River in a Southern Cascade League volleyball double - header at St. Mary's High. Kristen Zielony, a junior middle, had five blocks, five digs and four kills while Maren Zielony, a senior outside hitter, added six kills to lead the Crusaders to a 15-7, 15-2 victory in the opening match. And they were just warming up. Maren registered 12 digs and nine kills while Kristen had nine digs, six aces and four kills in the second match as the Crusaders collected a 15-2, 13-15, 15-11 victory to sweep the SCL doubleheader. "We tried to open up our offense in the second match and struggled a little with it," said St. Mary's coach James Joy, whose team ran its SCL record to 2-0 and its season record to 17-2. "But Lost River also just played tougher. They've got a couple of 6-foot girls in the middle who gave us problems." Defensive specialist Jenny Gritsch added 11 digs in the second match and setter Lani Brophy had six digs and 23 assists. The Crusaders host SCL rival Cascade Christian Tuesday in the St. Mary's gym. CASCADE CHRISTIAN, CHILOQUIN SPLIT -- Christine McCandless had three kills and four blocks as Cascade Christian defeated Chiloquin 15-10, 10-15, 15-2 in the opening match of a Southern Cascade League double-header. Krystal Holtz added three kills and Shelly Nicholson served for seven points to aid the Challengers. Chiloquin came back to win the second match 10-15, 15-10, 15-9. In the second match, Kristin Salamone had four kills for Cascade Christian (11-3, 1-1 SCL). Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.