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DNHS Volleyball
The Del Norte High School Volleyball teams did great this year. They showed incredible perseverance and had excellent work ethic all year long. Many of the athletes did not have the chance to play volleyball for the last two seasons because of COVID-19, which made this year even more exciting. There were fifteen girls on the Junior Varsity (JV) team, four soph-
omores and eleven freshmen. Five of the young women are citizens of local tribes: Neela Travis (TDN), Kimora McCovey, Tsinte Steinruck (TDN), Koy McQuillen and Trinity Hawkins. The JV program puts a large focus on teaching offense and defense systems that varsity runs to overall strengthen the program. The young women from the JV team will be able to transition and thrive on varsity, with the skills and advanced concepts they mastered this season. Neela Travis, tribal citizen and JV volleyball player said, "I enjoyed playing volleyball at a high school level this year." Three of the JV girls (Khloe Smith, Lauren Stutes, and Tsinte Steinruck) were pulled up to support the Varsity team by practicing and playing with them throughout the season. Tsinte Steinruck, tribal citizen and JV volleyball player said, "I had lots of fun learning something new every day at practice, and then putting it all together as a team during the game." There were ten girls on the varsity team, made up of one senior, three juniors, and six sophomores. Three of the young women are Tolowa Dee-ni' citizens: Jacalyn Gorbet, Ava O'Reilley and Reece White. Tribal citizen Reece White, who was a sophomore on the varsity team received an honorable mention. The Varsity Volleyball team finished 2nd in the Humboldt-Del Norte Big 5 League, Division 4, with a 6-3 record, and moved on to the North Coast Sections playoffs. Jacalyn Naaghe'chu Gorbet, tribal citizen and Varsity volleyball player said, "Volleyball this year was very interesting, we had two seasons in one calendar year. The training and preparing for the season really pushed me and all my teammates. My team this year was great. We had tons of fun going to out of town tournaments, and rides to and from games. We got 2nd in the Big Five, then finished the year losing our playoff game. Volleyball also taught me more than volleyball skills, but life skills. I am thankful for my coaches and teammates for teaching me that I am stronger than I think I am and that I can do anything I put my mind to."
Junior Varsity Volleball Team Varsity Volleyball Team
Back row left to right- Coach Shauna Ratnour, Neela Travis, Kimora McCovey, Back row left to right- Coach Meagan Curtis, Jacalyn Gorbet, McKenna Lauren Stutes, Shay Nolan, Araya Weaver, Tsinte Curtis, Lily Wilson, Breann Winingham, Marissa CamarenaSteinruck Front row left to right- Carlee Harper, Ariana Stansbury, Mayleah Jackson, Hannah Front row left to right- Ava O'Reilley, Lili Nunez, Izabele Schrader, Reece Giddings, Khloe Smith Not pictured- Audrey Phillips, Koy McQuillen, Lily White, Sheena Xiong Dodson, and Trinity Hawkins
Photos Courtesy of : Sarah Rose Photography, Crescent City CA.
The teams played in two tournaments this year- one in Brookings and one in Arcata. At the Brookings tournament JV won 3 out of the 4 games they played. At the Arcata tournament JV played in the championship, it was a very close battle, but they fell to the Ukiah JV team. JV Coach Shauna Ratnour said "I had a referee come up to me after that game, and tell me that was the best JV volleyball game she had refereed in her career and she has been doing it for over 25 years in the Humboldt/ Del Norte area". Other league referees made a point to come up to the coach after the league games, "they wanted to tell me how much they felt the girls have improved over the season" she said. Everyone who watched the warrior volleyball teams this year remarked on how well they communicated and moved on the court. The JV team was so good they were often compared to a varsity team because their defense was so great. Ratnour said, "Going beyond the sport itself, these girls were an absolute pleasure to coach! They worked so hard and spent every second they could playing volleyball. They set up the net before practice and they would be playing for fifteen minutes before I even got there just because they could."
