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Volleyball team prepares for regionals

MBC's volleyball team strives for unity and nationals




Team captain Ro Potter plays in Multnomah's first home game on Sept. 17. Potter is one of five returning players on the volleyball team this year.

If you ask any of the woman's volleyball players what they want this season, they will tell you the same thing--they want to go to nationals. Multnomah's women's volleyball team has five returning players and seven new players. Four freshmen, four sophomores, three juniors and one senior compose this year's team.

The women on the team came to Multnomah from all over the world. Freshman Dorina Puha comes from Romania. Beckie Hunt, a women's ministries major, comes from Alberta, Canada. Team captain Ro Potter grew up in Tokyo, Japan. Most of the players, though, come from places such as Washington and Oregon.

Potter said the team has a high level of skill--most of the players have played on volleyball teams before. Potter also said the team demonstrates a willingness to learn and a desire to get better.

Coach Bill Bedell said that he chooses players based on their heart, not their ability. He strives to have a team "that's full of character." He said that on the court, their true personalities come out. But, he said, he is able to see the team going to nationals if each player is willing to make sacrifices for the good of the team. Bedell said these players have advantages that secular players don't. Attending a Christian college, these players already know they don't have to prove their worth.

This year the team will play 16 games, seven of them at Multnomah. The team will also play in three tournaments--four if the women make nationals this year. Multnomah is in the National Christian College Athletics Association. Last year, the women Ambassadors volleyball team lost a match to Simpson College, keeping them from going to nationals. "This year," Potter said, "will be different."

Coach Bedell said that the team will go "as far as they want to go." Potter said the volleyball team has "great potential." She said the team is new, and the members are learning to work together. Many of the other team members said that team unity is their No. 1 goal this year. Coach Bedell said that the unity will come by mid-season. "It takes time for the team to gel," he said.

The team verse, the same one he uses for every team he coaches, is Romans 15:5-6: "May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Sophomore Trisha Smith, an intercultural studies major, said she hopes that "every aspect of their game, on and off the court, will be glorifying to God." Koren Tompkins, a women's ministries major, said she would like to see the team unified through good communication.

Potter said one thing that builds unity is road trips. For the team's third and fourth games, the Ambassadors traveled north. On Sept. 17, they played Puget Sound Christian College in Edmonds, Wash., and on Sept. 18, they played Columbia Bible College in Clearbrook, B.C. The team won both matches. The Ambassadors have won four games and lost seven. The team won its first home game on Sept. 13 against Linfield College.

Coach Bedell said that, in preparing for regionals, he will put in players who need practice. The Ambassadors may lose the match, but the players get needed practice. Coach Bedell does not care about the team's record--everything is preparation for regionals.