The Nooksack Valley volleyball team is competing in a four-day tournament in Phoenix, Arizona, from June 26 to 29. (Dennis Cairns for the Tribune)
EVERSON — Nooksack Valley volleyball is heading to Arizona this summer for a new kind of challenge.
The Pioneers will take part in a four-day tournament in Phoenix from June 26 to 29, a first for the program under head coach Holly St. Marie, who enters her second season after leading the team to an 8-7 league record in 2024.
“We always sit and kind of plan out our summer and as I’m just looking at different opportunities, I felt like it would be good for us to kind of get out and travel somewhere and just experience like different types of teams,” St. Marie said. “There’s not a ton of opportunities for tournaments in the summer, especially, so in my search, I found this Phoenix one.”
Lynden volleyball is also attending the tournament. Once the idea was introduced to players and families at Nooksack, it quickly gained traction.
“It sounded like something everyone was interested in,” she said.
The tournament features roughly 130 teams with a wide range of skill levels expected. For a team used to playing against familiar local competition, the change presents a welcome opportunity for growth.
“When we play locally, we see a lot of the same athletes, a lot of the same teams,” St. Marie said. “They usually know the kids across the net kind of thing. I think it’ll be a really good opportunity for them to just experience some different volleyball down south.”
St. Marie said the trip also serves as a way to bring the team together after time apart and get reps in before fall season prep begins.
“Our goals are always to do our best to win matches, win games, but I think because it’s so early in our summer, it’s always important for us to just develop the little things,” she said. “Just building that cohesion amongst each other… getting that cohesion back together is something that I’m looking forward to for them.”
Nooksack’s summer preparation has included team camps and local scrimmages. While those remain part of the schedule, traveling to a large out-of-state tournament marks a new step.
“Historically have done like team camps and some local scrimmages and that sort of thing,” St. Marie said. “But no, this is the first time, at least for me, traveling to go take the team to like a bigger size tournament.”
St. Marie said she expects the level of play in Phoenix to vary but believes the Pioneers will be able to hold their own.
“There could be some really good teams, there could be some that maybe [are] on a lower level, but I expect us to get to a point where we’re competing at a pretty high level,” she said.
Planning a trip like this involves extensive logistics, but St. Marie said she was comfortable taking the lead.
“This is what I do outside of Nooksack, so I feel really comfortable planning trips like this,” she said. “It was just working alongside Tom Harman obviously and just making sure that everybody was in alignment with us doing it… I checked in with a lot of folks to just make sure it was something that everyone thought would be a great idea for this program.”
The group also organized fundraising efforts to help make the trip possible. One unique factor they’ll have to manage is the heat—summer temperatures in Phoenix often exceed 100 degrees.
“It’s going to be pretty hot down there, so just making sure that we’re taking care of ourselves,” St. Marie said. “It’s more volleyball than the girls have seen in like a short period of time, so just preparing ourselves for that as well.”
With many returning players from last year’s varsity squad, the group has high expectations.
“They always want to compete to win,” St. Marie said. “But I do want to get us to a place where we’re thinking about who do we want to be in the fall. So it’s just building that back, coming into the summer.”
Above all, she hopes the experience strengthens the team and creates lasting memories.
“Obviously building memories and… just building that trust with each other,” she said. “I’m looking forward to getting a lot of time together with the team and getting to coach them through some really good opportunities to play.”
