Last season was a memorable one for Churchill girls volleyball.
The No. 3 seed Lancers made it all the way to the 5A state semifinals before falling to No. 2 Crescent Valley. Churchill came back and beat Bend in the third/fifth place match to bring home bronze.
It was the Lancers’ first time back at the state tournament since a run in 2015, and it was the first time they walked away with a trophy since taking third in 2013.
Following the season, head coach Bre Gibbons stepped down, leaving a hole at the top of the program.
After a lack of applicants, Madison Casley raised her hand to take over the program a year after she joined it to be the JV head coach.
“I was kind of hesitant to do it at first because it’s quite a big commitment and I’ve never done it before,” Casley said. “Someone needs to step in and take over for those girls, they deserve someone who cares about them. It’s a really good community.”
Casley, a first-time head coach, is from Springfield and went to Thurston for her high school playing days before spending a year playing for Oregon Tech in college.
Casley came back to the Eugene/Springfield area and got involved in coaching through her old club program at Webfoot Juniors.
There, Casley has been coaching for the past nine years and spent two years coaching JV at Thurston before taking over the JV squad at Churchill last season.
Now she gets to take over a program that saw steady growth over the past two years, resulting in a state tournament appearance in 2023 and the third-place finish in 2024.
“I think that it’s really important that they don’t get comfortable with (success) because it’s not something that’s just given, they’re not just going to inherit it,” Casley said. “The younger talent coming up, I think we have some girls who were sophomores last year that are really going to surprise some people and fill some big shoes, which was the whole goal I made with my JV team last year.”
Gone is the Midwestern League Player of the Year in outside hitter Nyah Mitchell, as well as first teamers in outside hitter Rylee Bones and middle blocker Rhianna Lane. Opposite hitter and second teamer Kiera Penland, and honorable mention MB Jaedyn Bones also graduated.
A vital piece coming back is senior setter Lubna Ward, who made the Midwestern second team last season. Junior libero Emma Cross also returns after an honorable mention in league.
Senior middle/defensive specialist Allie Ferrari is another returner Casley is looking forward to seeing play, along with junior OHs Lexie and Sahalie Hoberg.
“A couple of the girls play for Webfoot, but I was (coaching 12U) so I didn’t have any ties with (the high schoolers),” Casley said. “When I saw them come back after the break, I was like, ‘Whoa.’ You can tell they’ve been putting in the work.”
For Casley, the goal with taking over is to get her squad to focus on the controllables, which come down to the four “hot words” as she described.
Attitude. Effort. Hustle. Energy.
“I just really want them to feel like they gave it everything, whatever their record looks like, whatever the season ends up looking like,” Casley said. “If it ends up in the top half of the league or top 10 in the state, whatever that looks like, I think they’ll be satisfied with knowing they put in work for it.”
Churchill starts the season with a home matchup against reigning 4A runnerups in Marist Catholic at 6:45 p.m. Sept. 2.
Clackamas turns to “home grown” Bankofier
Don’t get it twisted. While new Clackamas girls volleyball head coach Mekeala Bankofier may have attended Central Catholic during high school, she’s always been a member of the Clackamas community.
From attending Sunrise Middle School to now owning a home across from her childhood house, Bankofier is all in on Clackamas and made the decision to come back to head coaching this season for the Cavaliers.
Previously, Bankofier took over as the head coach of Cleveland in 2014 at only 21-years-old after watching her mother coach for the Warriors growing up.
After 2020, Bankofier took a step back from coaching after having her child, but stayed close to school as she became the athletic secretary at Clackamas and has been there for the past five years.
“Saw the opportunity to get back into coaching and thought, ‘Life is crazy enough, why not add something else?’ So here I am,” Bankofier said. “I’m the athletic secretary here too so I get to build those relationships with the kids, but now I get to have a different relationship with them on the court. And they’re all really excited and eager to learn, which makes my job a heck of a lot easier.”
Last season under Nathan Blankenship, the Cavaliers made the postseason after missing it in 2022 and 2023.
Part of the dip in what has been quite a successful Cavaliers program is no secret: The opening of Nelson High School within the same school district.
The Hawks’ volleyball program has arguably been its most successful since opening in 2021, as seen by taking third place in the 6A state tournament for the past three years.
Bankofier knows the challenge ahead and is ready to build a different look for Clackamas volleyball.
“This community is so strong and has been around Clackamas athletics since I was young,” Bankofier said. “It was an adjustment to now have Nelson, who is our neighboring school and we have a lot of respect for as well. I think we had to reshape our identity a little bit and I think we have done that.
“We’re going to move on, we’re going to get better and reestablish who we are as Clackamas in all of our athletics.”
The Cavs will have some talent to replace after its two All-Mt. Hood second-team players in OHs Emmeline Hockert and Teagan Dixon both graduated.
Clackamas will have only one senior in Claire Heying, who is moving from MB to OH after being a Mt. Hood honorable mention last season.
Junior Avery Vaughan has emerged as a strong middle blocker that’s become a “silent leader” for the Cavs, alongside returning setter Gabrielle Davis who has shown immense growth in Bankofier’s eyes.
It’s a young and unproven group that Bankofier hopes to help mold into strong community members.
But again, don’t get it twisted, she wants this team to win too.
“My goal is to just have a community to build on within our program with accountability, resilience and mutual respect, we have to create good people,” Bankofier said. “But I want to win, I’m a competitor. I want to leave a legacy of excellence and to be inclusive in our program, but I want to win.”
The Mt. Hood is a tough conference with Nelson and Central Catholic having well-established success.
A league title would be a welcomed sight, but really the Cavs want to be back in the postseason and playing at home this time.
“We want to be hosting a first-round playoff here at Clack, we want to be hosting and getting out of the first round and into the second round,” Bankofier said. “I think we have to walk before we run a little bit, but we are really excited to have the opportunity to compete at the highest level.”
Clackamas starts the season with a league matchup on the road, taking on Gresham at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 3.
Salness steps down at Sunset
After 27 years and 402 wins coaching girls volleyball at Sunset, head coach Lad Salness stepped down. Those 402 wins are the 29th most in Oregon girls volleyball history.
Salness first took over from 1991-1994 where he went 24-8 leading the Apollos. He returned in 2003 and has coached them ever since, acquiring a 378-158 record in his second stint.
The Apollos finished as high as third under Salness, taking bronze in 2016, 2010 and 2009. The 2016 team was the No. 8 seed and upset No. 1 Jesuit in the quarterfinals.
Overall, the Apollos made eight trips to the state tournament under Salness, and made the state playoffs almost every year.
Amanda Wiedeman will take over the Sunset program and will be in action when the Apollos open the season at home against Sherwood at 6:45 p.m. Sept. 2.
Other new head coaches (previous coach in parentheses)
Glencoe: Ashley Cox
Crescent Valley: Paul Ossowski (McKenna Smith)
Redmond: Jessica Jones
Ridgeview: Nick Viggiano (Bri Hewson)
Summit: Kevin McColloch (Emily McMahon)
Gladstone: Jeff Miller (Kristin Bowen)
De La Salle North Catholic: Valerie Bruk (Callie Weber)
Horizon Chrisitian, Tualatin: Caleb George (Jay Lazaro)
Oregon Episcopal: Quin Kloppenburg
Neah-Kah-Nie: Debra Beckwith
Riverdale: Ana Alves (Alfred Agcaoili)
Amity: Brooke Lopez
Dayton: Samantha Alexander (Megan Webster)
La Pine: Kassy Bowen
Sisters: Mahryahna Callegari
Nyssa: Adam McLean (Katie Johnson)
Rogue River: Joe Kolkow (Sarah Wicks)
Gaston: Ginger Jolly (Sarah Irvine)
Knappa: Selena Burgher (Sarah Owen)
Colton: Brittney Ferlan (Kaliahna Raasch)
Irrigon: Brenda Burright (Myka Davis)
Stanfield: Harlee Woods (Blaine Ganvoa)
Bonanza: Grace Lee (Donna Romtvedt)
Grand View Christian: Elisabeth Burklund (Isabella Stott)
Valor Christian/Tualatin Valley Academy: Steve Lorenz (Cary Gatzke)
Chemawa: Tyler Robison (Amee Mike)
Falls City/Kings Valley Charter: Tiauannah Labrado (Dani Simington)
Livingstone Adventist Academy: Sabrina Mitchell (Ronny Leichner)
Eddyville Charter: Mariah Silvonen (Chelsea Gassner)
Mapleton: Carly Duval (Molly Dooley)
Camas Valley: Ashley Gunderson (Tresta Payne)
Elkton: Athera Monroe (Natasha Allen)
Chiloquin: Jessica Lockrem-Plascencia (Ginette Lewis)
Sherman: Kayci Sharp (Caitlin Cruickshank)
Spray/Mitchell/Wheeler: Teagan Towell (Crystal Rey)
Elgin: Kendall Noyes (Haylee McNall)
Nixyaawii: Nina Watchman (Rayne Spencer)
Powder Valley: Karly Dunten (Marji Lind)
Dayville/Monument/Long Creek: Teri Hamilton (Mary Breck)
Jordan Valley: Mikal Lequerica (Marcia Eiguren)
austinw@osaa.org
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