Volleyball day 2 Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Mariah Watchman hits for Helix in their 25-15, 18-25, 25-19, 25-19 loss to Imbler Nov. 8 in the 1A championship at the state volleyball tournament in Forest Grove.

I wrote yesterday about the challenges of shooting volleyball. There was one "wow" shot that I found, but didn't quite get. The photo at left is as close as I got. I wish I'd aimed just a little more to the right to include the net. It's just out of the frame—trust me.

This shot, with the venue's logo in the background, was only available in the odd games (1 and 3) when Helix was playing in the left side of Court 1. (You could line up the player and logo in the even games from the other side of the court, but the right-handed hitters would be facing the wrong way.)

Then, the set has to go to the middle or left hitter, and they have to go for the big hit (not a tip). Then you have to get it in focus, and time the shot so that the ball is in the frame. Then you have to hope that the other players on the front line don't get in the way. If it all lines up, then you've got the shot.

As I implied above, I was covering Helix in the 1A finals. The Grizzlies—who actually play for Griswold High School, in the town of Helix—fell short of their goal. Even their mascot (left) was glum.









[right] Demetria Thompson of Imbler celebrates a point against Helix Nov. 8 in the 1A state volleyball championship.

I wasn't shooting Imbler at all, but after Helix missed a block that I was trying to shoot, I saw this in my viewfinder and couldn't help but fire a couple of frames.

[left] Helix junior Meghan Schroeder dons the silver medal with tears in her eyes after the Grizzlies' loss in the 1A final. [below, and bottom left] Coach Tammie Parker consoles Britney Smith. Smith was chosen player of the game for Helix.










It's never fun shooting the second place team, especially for high school sports. I considered both of these shots (above and right) for the paper; instead they ran the shot below.

You can see other photos and read Justin Chartrey's stories here, here, and here.