PORT ANGELES — Momentum One Volleyball Academy is a new nonprofit youth volleyball club formed in September.
Momentum One welcomes athletes throughout the Olympic Peninsula. In its first year, the club has been able to accommodate four teams — 13U, two 14U teams and a 16U team.
Over Presidents’ Day weekend, Momentum One sent three teams to the Northwest Juniors Presidents Day Tournament at various schools in the Seattle-Tacoma area.
Both 14U teams competed in the same 93-team bracket. Team 14 Tsunami, coached by Alyssa Wetzler, finished 35th, while Team 14 Hurricane, coached by Merissa Koller-Williams, finished 41st.
Team 16 Tsunami, coached by academy director Christine Grunch-Halberg, finished 13th out of 32 teams.
“Team 16 Tsunami got first place in pool play after day one which put us in a good spot for tougher competition on day two, which started rough due to an injury early in the first set of the day. We lost to Lake Tapps who we had beaten earlier in the year,” said Grunch-Halberg.
“Our girls regrouped, and we readjusted our lineup without our injured player for the next two matches and the girls played the best I’ve seen them play all year. We beat West Coast Ice from Canada. The evening ended with our best-fought match against the No. 1 seed in our pool, Idaho Impact.
“They are one of the best teams we’ve played against all year and lost in three sets — 17-25, 25-22 and 13-15. The girls were on point and played with unending energy. Idaho finished the tourney second overall so essentially we were two points from being in the top eight,” Grunch-Halberg said.
The club hopes to gauge interest in boys volleyball this summer and expand to include more girls next season. Tryouts are held in October and November with tournaments beginning in January.
“We were overwhelmed by the amount of interest at 14U tryouts this fall. It’s been tough to find gym space to accommodate our program,” Koller-Williams said. “Athletes and their families have been very committed and patient with our staff as we navigate our first year as a club. Hopefully the success we saw last weekend will inspire parents and athletes alike to continue investing in the game we love.”
Riders swimmers in finals at state
FEDERAL WAY — Port Angeles’ Taylor Martin finished 11th in the state in the 100 backstroke at the finals of the 2A State Swim and Dive championships, while the Roughriders 400-yard freestyle relay team came in 14th.
Martin came in 11th with a time of 57.30 seconds in Saturday’s finals held Saturday afternoon at the King County Aquatic Center.
The 400 relay team of Josh Krzysiak, Alex Hertzog, Martin and Josh Gavin finished 14th with a time of 3:32.98.
Hoopfest
PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles Parks and Recreation Department is hosting a competitive spring hoopfest on March 7 and 8, with divisions for boys and girls’ teams from fourth grade through high school.
There is a $250 entry fee with a four-game guarantee. To register or to get more information, contact Dan Estes at destes@cityofpa.us or call at 360-417-4557.
