PLEASANT HILL – “Why do you play volleyball?” asked Lauren Anderson, director of the Warsaw Sports Business Center at the University of Oregon’s Lundquist College of Business. She was speaking to a room full of Thurston, Pleasant Hill, Creswell, and Cottage Grove volleyball teams at Pleasant Hill’s Student Center on Thursday.
The room fell quiet, but one-by-one, a couple of hesitant hands crept up, and answers varied from among community, camaraderie, and confidence.
Then it was the coaches’ turn. They voiced their love and passion for the sport, the beauty of it, and the special relationships with their players.
Suddenly, a room full of rivals found a deep sense of shared unity – one of resilience, personal growth, and women’s empowerment in their sport.
Anderson
“You don’t think of it like you’re learning life skills,” said Anderson, who served as head coach of the Lake Oswego High School girls lacrosse program for 17 years and has held several leadership roles with USA Lacrosse and the Oregon Girls Lacrosse Association. “But the way you guys communicate with each other, stand up for each other, fight for each other, that sense of not only being the best personally, but competitive as a team – those are all skills that are fabulous for you for your whole life.”
The second annual North Star Volleyball Jamboree was the first opportunity this season for area schools to put on their uniforms and compete. After an inspiring speech from Anderson – and lunching on Papa Murphy’s Pizza and bundt cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes, the teams embarked upon five one-set matches.
Lauren Anderson discussed the value of sports in developing life skills and community support while players enjoyed pizza and bundt cakes in the Pleasant Hill cafeteria. ALL PHOTOS BY CRAIG STROBECK
The host Billies lost a slew of all-state seniors to graduation and went 1-3.
Coach Jessica Crawford knows it’s a rebuilding year, but is optimistic.
“These jamborees provide the opportunity to play different players who may not have as much experience and have kind of a soft opening,” she said. “It also provides the ability to learn, meet new teammates, and see new player roles. We have some growth to do, but we still have really good players. We just have to figure out how to play to our strengths and I think we’ll get there. My goal for the 2025 season is to compete and surprise some people.”
Pleasant Hill features many rising newcomers this year, such as Sari String (No. 3) and Piper Fisher (No. 10). ALL PHOTOS BY CRAIG STROBECK
Springfield coach Andrea Barrera made her debut at the jamboree. She said she is focusing on developing mental toughness and team cohesion and hopes the “results will come later.”
“It’s definitely tough to play back-to-back games,” she said. “But at the same time, I think the girls thrive on being thrown in the game, developing their skills and having a challenge.”
Thurston coach Kayla Devereaux made her debut at the jamboree, going 2-2.
The Class 4A Cottage Grove Lions and 3A Creswell Bulldogs finished unbeaten, as their jamboree-ending matchup ended early due to a player injury.
The Bulldogs entered the jamboree with a stacked roster of upperclassmen for this season. That includes Piper Hanson, already committed to the University of Oregon. She is Creswell coach Anna Baltrusch’s granddaughter.
Creswell sees top returners Piper Hanson (No. 12), Teighlor Nunez (No. 14), Rylee Cline (No.4) and Marley Query (No. 11) for the ’25 season. PHOTOS BY CRAIG STROBECK AND BOB WILLIAMS
Meanwhile, Teighlor Nunez rolled her ankle in the middle of the Cottage Grove-Creswell match. Nunez’s foot got tangled with a Cottage Grove player’s foot on the other side of the net. Nunez immediately collapsed on the floor as concerned players surrounded her.
The Bulldogs forfeited the match while the score was 11-10.
“She’s healing, but it’ll be a while before she can play,” Baltrusch said about Nunez on Monday. “It was a badly rolled ankle.”
BOB WILLIAMS / THE CHRONICLE
“We are actually really good friends with the Creswell team,” Cottage Grove coach Abby Ladd said. “Our girls struggled seeing one of their players hurt. We are nothing but hopeful for their player’s quick recovery.”
Ladd’s sentiment rang true as Cottage Grove players walked off the court, some hugging and comforting the other Creswell players.
Cottage Grove saw its strongest opener in years in Ladd’s sixth year. She said the Lions are finally starting to “buy-in,” along with consistent offseason training.
“We worked really hard in the offseason to build a team mentality and get comfortable with each other playing with intensity,” Ladd said. “We’ve also started going to Guy Enrique’s Team Camp in the summer and the purpose of that camp is to build better people. They really lean into that every year. I think that has given them the ability to really buy-in.”
Ladd (in black) said in the post-team huddle that it was the strongest season opener the Lions displayed in years. PHOTOS BY CRAIG STROBECK AND BOB WILLIAMS.
Ladd said she plans to build off this momentum by ensuring the team remains humble and hardworking.
“We don’t want to get overconfident,” she said. “Our goal is to stay humble and stay focused. We want to continue to improve and drive for success. We’re hoping to attack the Sky-Em League this year. With Marshfield and Marist every year, it can be intimidating, but I think these girls have built that confidence in themselves and their team that we’re not scared and we’re craving that competition and excited for the opportunity to play.”
