
DATE: Friday, May 16, 1997                  TAG: 9705140200
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS     PAGE: 12   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY REA McLEROY, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   89 lines

COASTAL VIRGINIA IS NOT LETTING ANYONE BLOCK THEIR WAY

The Coastal Virginia Volleyball Club was clinging to a 14-13 lead in the championship game of the Old Dominion Region Tournament last month when Quiana White rose from the floor to block a ball hit by the Richmond team.

Everyone on the Coastal team held their breath.

``When Quiana hit that block, I thought it came down on our side, everybody did,'' said Coastal's Sarah Neaves. ``I was like, `Oh man, that was the game point.' ''

White herself wasn't sure.

``It seemed like it was so long, the ball coming from my hands and going to the floor,'' she said. ``There was just so much adrenaline flowing through me.''

When the referee ruled the ball down on the Richmond side, the Coastal team erupted. The point capped a comeback from an 0-6 deficit against a Richmond team that had beaten Coastal four times earlier in the year and gained the 18-under local team a trip to Denver in June for the national tournament.

``There were tears and jumping, we rolled in the floor,'' Heather Niedermeier said.

Later, the team telephoned Arlene Pineda, who had missed the matches with a sprained knee and had to sweat it out at home.

``I stayed up until really late and they called me about 1, and I was very pleased,'' Pineda said.

Pineda wasn't the only one enduring down time. At the tournament, the players would play, then sit and wait, then play again. Keeping the momentum up through the almost 12 hours of matches was a game in itself.

Getting up for the semifinal and championship matches was easy for the girls. In semifinal play, they faced TVA, the other local Junior Olympic team. All but three Coastal players have played for the TVA team at some point.

``There was a lot of pride and respect in that match as well as personal feelings,'' Niedermeier said.

When Coastal beat TVA and won the right to play in the championship match, they were within a victory of achieving a season goal. All year, Coastal closed practices by chanting ``Denver.'' But, standing in their way was the Richmond team that had dominated them.

``The most important thing is, we came back in the finals of the most important tournament and beat a team we had never beaten before,'' Cathy Arnette said.

The Coastal players relied on the teamwork they developed through practicing two and three times a week.

``We're all friends - that helps a lot,'' Pineda said. ``There's none of that bickering that goes on on other teams.''

Just respect for one another. And a shared goal of winning a national championship.

``We're representing the East Coast, and the East Coast isn't known for volleyball, and Virginia, especially, we're not known for our volleyball,'' Neaves said. ``I feel like we're one of the best 18-and-under teams that have come from this state. Of course, there's a little bit of pressure with that.''

The national tournament berth was the second for a team that didn't exist until 1992. The club began when Beth Lett and Linda Pippin organized the Western Branch Spikettes, a 14-and-under Junior Olympic team of Western Branch Junior High players. The team finished second in the region.

The next year, Lett and Pippin expanded to include Great Bridge and Deep Creek players. In 1994, Lett and Pippin gave administrative duties to Bob Arnette, and the team became the Western Branch Volleyball Club. It won the Old Dominion Region Championship in the 16-and-under division and competed at the nationals in Austin, Texas.

In 1995, they were renamed Coastal Virginia. That year, the 18-and-under team won the Mizuno Time-out for Sports Classic at the University of Delaware. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

COASTAL VIRGINIA

Current

Beth Arnette, Western Branch

Cathy Arnette, Western Branch

Jennifer Burns, Indian River

Emerald Zemedkun, Kempsville

Caroline Keenan, Peninsula Catholic

Sarah Neaves, Tallwood

Heather Neidermeier, Deep Creek

Arlene Pineda, Tallwood

Katie Sherwood, Greenbrier Christian

McKeesha Tann, Ocean Lakes