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Ashland volleyball run ends in two losses By CLIFF PFENNING PORTLAND -- Fourth-ranked Ashland got the Saturday night matchup it wanted at the Class 4A prep volleyball tournament, but the Grizzlies didn't get the right starting time or the correct result. Second-ranked Central Catholic beat Ashland 15-9, 15-2 in the third-place final. The loss dropped the Grizzlies all the way to sixth place. Ashland, which had beaten Central Catholic twice during the season, had hoped to play the Rams in the final, but both teams lost in the semifinals Saturday afternoon at the Chiles Center. "We thought we matched up well with Central Catholic and we wanted to meet them in the final," Ashland coach Josh Rohlfing said. "But that didn't happen and we didn't play very well when we did meet. "And in this tournament, it's pretty hard to win when you don't play well." No. 3 West Linn beat Ashland, 15-8, 15-6, in the semifinals, while Central Catholic was upset by No. 9 Jesuit, 15-12, 15-12. West Linn won the tournament for the second straight year with a 15-11, 15-9 decision over Jesuit. Ashland seniors Chelsea Morgan and Amy Williams were voted to the all-tournament first team by opposing coaches. "Getting to the tournament was great, but we didn't play our best," senior Loriana Berman said. "Saturday was a pretty disappointing day." Ashland, which did win the sportsmanship trophy, was trying to become the first Southern Oregon team to reach the final. In their first match Saturday, the Grizzlies led West Linn 5-2 before the Lions scored 10 straight points on junior Whitney Arena's serve to take a 12-5 lead. Ashland staved off eight game points at 14-5, but the big scoring run took a bite of confidence out of the Grizzlies. Rohlfing said his team's serve-receive lacked consistency because of an ankle injury senior Chelsea Johnson suffered in the team's final conference match with Roseburg. Johnson didn't play in the tournament. "We hadn't played a match without her in the lineup," Rohlfing said. "We couldn't put the ball over our setter's head so we had trouble getting any offense going." West Linn led 11-2 in the second game and won the match in 40 minutes. Berman, who had four kills, said West Linn's experience in the state tournament gave it a distinct advantage. "We weren't as poised as we should have been," Berman said. The evening trophy match lasted just 40 minutes as well. Central Catholic, which reached the semifinals for the seventh time in eight years, had 23 hitting errors in its semifinal loss and made another 11 against Ashland. But the Rams still managed 30 kills, 17 more than the Grizzlies. Berman had six kills and Williams had three to lead Ashland. Ashland's trip to the semifinals was the sixth for a Southern Oregon team, but each one lost once it arrived there. Rohlfing, in his third year as head coach, said the experience was good for the program, which will lose seven seniors. Berman said the trip to Portland helped the players bond. "We didn't play too well the second day, but we came together as a team," she said. "We got a lot closer as friends." ALL-TOURNAMENT FIRST TEAM -- Courtney Bush, Sr., Barlow; Chelsea Morgan, Sr., Ashland; Amy Williams, Sr., Ashland; Megan Kaysinger, Jr., Central Catholic; Julie Grauert, Jr., Jesuit; Danielle Jansen, Sr., West Linn. SECOND TEAM -- Amanda Larsen, Jr., North Bend; Katelyn Healy, Jr., Central Catholic; Sarah Pilgreen, Sr., Thurston; Celeste Jones, Jr., Oregon City; April Peterson, Sr., West Linn; Whitney Arena, Jr., West Linn. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.