By Gerardo Bolong

TACOMA - For Foster, it was a short stay at the West Central District III 2A volleyball tournament held at Franklin Pierce High School on Friday, Nov. 8th.

No. 5 seed Fife hitched up the wagons early and rolled to a three-set loser out victory against the No. 12 sub-district seeded Foster from Tukwila.

"Today was the first time all season that I saw them begin with a 100 per cent winning attitude," said Bulldog head coach Brandi Travess.

"They can carry this into next year. We've really got a bunch of potential. It goes in cycles and this was a rebuilding year with lots of young players. For us, it's more than just about winning games. Besides, the volleyball, we want to help stabilize lives with a positive experience whether you win or lose. Teaching life skills is even more important than volleyball skills. This is a young team and we'll be a lot stronger next year."

Foster (5-17) showed some early quickness by matching the Fife Trojans point for point in opening set play. Both squads participated in seven ties, the last being at 17-17 before the issue of winning the set was decided. A big serve to the back line ignited the Trojan fire for six consecutive points as the Fife front line controlled the flow by blocking and scoring to post a 23-17 margin. To their credit, the underdog Bulldogs flurried for three consecutive points, forcing a Trojan time out. Angelana Pintos set up a nice kill by six-footer Eva Linden to gain set point. Foster fought off one set point until Fife clinched the win.

Following a 3-3 deadlock in the second set, the theme of "roll Trojans" became emphatic with Fife firing out to a 15-14 lead on the way to a 25-6 victory.

In the third set, Fife was in command at 20-7. Fighting strongly against Trojan reserves, the Wolverine drew closer at 21-12, 23-15, and 24-18 before the Trojans hammered home the triumph.

"I'm the only remaining starter from last year," said senior Eunica Serifica. "The first set was the best we've played. I worked with the newcomers to bring up their level and many improved. It was a struggle to stay consistent. In the end, we peaked and did our best playing going into the playoffs."

The player roster for Foster includes Ciara Muna, Ariana Serifica, Angelie Teng, Maria Ibanez, Marquis Daniels, Monica Dinh, Bre Mills, Eunica Serafica, Nakita Brusnighan, Releen Gogo, Naomy Hernandez, Tavaesina Maiava, Aolani Medrano and Pearlena Medrano.

Assistants to head coach Travess are Shauna Briggs, Lesieli Tapealava and Sahara Hill.

JD Hill is the longtime athletic director.