Getting to know the Sound Premier Team... KATIE SILLIMAN

Image Courtesy of Dig That Shot Photography

Katie Silliman is a 3 year starter and member of the original Sound Premier Volleyball team. The 6'1" middle blocker spent her junior volleyball career in Danville, CA, playing for Tri-Valley VBC. Silliman continued her career at Arkansas State University, where she broke an NCAA record for highest hitting percentage between 15-19 attempts, hitting 1.000 (15 kills/15 attempts) against Jackson State on October 11th, 1998. In 1999 Arkansas State was crowned the Sun Belt Conference Champions and Silliman was named Tournament MVP. Her team went on to compete in the NCAA championship and lost in the first round to Pepperdine.

When she isn't playing volleyball Silliman is a Senior Administrative Assistant in the marketing department at REI. She lives an adventurous lifestyle, hiking, rock climbing, snowshoeing and just about any other outdoor activity you can name. Katie says she keeps coming back to the Sound Premier Team because she "loves to be coach, and having spent her recent years coaching, its nice to be back on the other side of the game again." Silliman currently resides in Seattle, WA. This will be her third year on the Sound Premier Team.

Image Courtesy of Dig That Shot Photography

Sound Premier Volleyball Team Falls Twice on Tough First Day of Volleyball at the Premier Volleyball Leauge National Championship Tournament.

#11 Sara Bendorf led all hitters at the 1st day of the PVL Championship.
Image Courtesy of Dig That Shot Photography

The Sound Premier Volleyball Team started their first match of the Premier Volleyball League Tournament at 5am Pacific time, which was 8am local time in Louisville, KY.  Not only did they face a tough time difference, but they also faced the number one team in the tournament, defending champions The Hoosier Exterminators.  The Sound fell in straight sets to the Exterminators and lost by the same score later in the morning to the Northern California Dream Team.

Outside hitter Sara Bendorf led all hitters for the Sound with 11 kills.  She also tallied two blocks for a team leading total of 13 points scored on the day.  Captain Katie Silliman had five kills in the middle to go with her team leading 6 blocks.  Angie Alvord also had a good day in the middle with seven kills, two blocks and an ace.  Outside hitter Marlayna Geary contributed eight kills and opposite Jessica Vanzant scored seven points on four kills and three blocks.

Leilani Ramsey anchored the Sound defense through the course of the day and was the foundation of their rapidly improving serve receive.  Whitney Buck and Ashley Allen shared time at setter through the two matches as head coach Bill Neville searched for winning combinations.  All 12 players on the Sound Premier roster say playing time on day one of the tournament.

The Sound will continue to pool play starting at 8:30am Pacific time on Sunday May 26 against the Western Empire team.  They will play their final match of the initial five team pool at 1:30pm Pacific time on Sunday.  The top four teams of the pool will be seeded into the second round of the championship tournament which will be played on Monday May 27.  The bottom team will be seeded into the consolation bracket.

PVL Update

Pool 1
The #1 seed Hoosier Exterminators are undefeated after the first day of the tournament.  They postedvictories over the Sound Premier Team and the Badger Blizzards.  They will likely face the North California Dream Team for the Pool One top spot on Sunday.  Pool 1 Standings

Pool 2
Team North Texas leads Pool two with a two win zero loss record.  Arizona, Great Plains and Great Lakes are all in the hunt to finish at the top of that pool.  Team Evergreen is 0-2 and nervously hoping that outside hitter Meghan Ganzer will be able to play in the rest of the tournament after rolling her ankle on Saturday.  Pool 2 Standings

Pool 3
The Pioneer Mayhem arrived on the PVL scene and declared themselves contenders with wins over the Iowa Ice and Team New England.  Iowa Ice pulled the upset of the day with a five set win over the #3 seeded Florida Wave.  The Heart of America Havoc suffered through a tough first day of the tournament with a pair of losses.  Pool 3 Standings

Live Streaming of the PVL Championship
Click Here for Live Streaming of the 2013 Premier Volleyball League Championship
Court 3 Sunday May 26 vs Western Empire  8:30am Pacific TimeCourt 4 Sunday May 26 vs Badger Blizzard  1:30pm Pacific Time

The Sound Premier Volleyball Team Serves Up An Evening of Fun and Volleyball To Start the 2013 Season

Players look on in disbelief at the broken net.
Image Courtesy of Dig That Shot Photography

Associate Head Coach Brad Saindon made a point of saying the team didn't need to go out and break the net to put on a good show before the Sound Premier Volleyball Team's first ever home match, but  middle hitter Jessica Vanzant did just that on the 25th point of set three to give her team the victory and all 193 fans in attendance a memory of the beginning of professional volleyball in the Puget Sound Region they won't soon forget.

#7 Jessica Vanzant sheepishly accepts her teammates applause.
Image by Dig That Shot Photography

The broken net was the highlight of a collection of memories that were created on what will be remembered as the night that the seeds for a professional volleyball team were planted in the Puget Sound Region.  A new team reached out and recruited new fans from all ages and all walks of life.  The players shared their skills and their smiles and took the first step to developing a sustainable women's volleyball program. 

A coachable moment during the
Sound Premier Volleyball Experience.
Image by Dig That Shot Photography

Before the showcase match, the event began with the Sound Premier Volleyball Experience.  The Experience gave junior players from the Puget Sound Region a chance to get on the court and play with the players from the Sound Premier Volleyball Team.  45 minutes of fast paced queen of the court action stoked the young players desire to someday count themselves among the best players The Puget Sound Region has to offer. 

After warming up with their fans, the team switched gears and worked to put on a showcase of the best volleyball the Puget Sound Region.

Marlayna Geary Led Team Olympics with 10 Kills.
Image by Dig That Shot Photography

Vanzant wasn't the only one who held nothing back when the match began.  Despite being an inter-squad scrimmage, the match had more intensity than your average exhibition as the talented and competitive members of the team worked to put on a show for their new fans. 

Former USA National Team player Jane Collymore led all hitters with 11 kills on the night.  Michigan State University Alumni Jessica Sanborn was the leading scorer with 14 points on 10 kills, two aces and two blocks.  Both featured for Team Cascade who swept the match 3-0.

Click Here to Get The Point Scoring Stats for the Match

Carolyn Farny with her new fan.  Dig That Shot Photography.

After the match, the players took the time to autograph everything from volleyballs to t-shirts and practice notebooks.  The players mingled with their new fans in a way that is uncommon in professional sports and made sure that everyone had the opportunity to go home feeling a connection to their new team.  

Jane Collymore
Dig That Shot Photography

Whitney Buck with her biggest fans.
Dig That Shot Photography

Sara Bendorf and her Lil PJ.  Dig That Shot Photography

The Sound Premier Volleyball Team will be at the Kirkland Boys and Girls Club for an outreach event on March 8.  Their next showcase event will be March 16 at Lake Stevens Volleyball Training Center. 

Sound Premier Volleyball Team Inter-Squad Showcase Event in Pictures by Dig That Shot Photography

Prior to the Sound Premier Volleyball Team Showcase match, the team took the time to play queen of the court with a collections of USA Volleyball Junior Players participating in the Sound Volleyball Experience.

Team Cascades won the Inter-Squad Scrimmage 3-0 on the strength of 11 kills by Jane Collymore and a 14 point performance by Jessica Sanborn. It was the Lil PJs who stole the show as they escorted their new friends to the court.

Following the match, fans young and old got the chance to get autographs and take pictures with their new heroes. The team signed everything from volleyballs to sweatshirts for their fans.

Three Familiar Faces Return to the Sound Premier Volleyball Team for the 2013 Season

Jessica Sanborn (closest) and Katie Silliman battled it out in the middle at the 2012 Premier Volleyball Team Exhibition held at the High Performance Tryouts. 

The Sound Premier Volleyball Team announced their first three player signings of 2013 today when they made it known that middle hitters Jessica Sanborn, Katie Silliman and  libero Anna Herold were returning to the squad for the 2013 season.  The trio were part of the 2012 squad that traveled to Salt Lake City to take part in the Premier Volleyball League National Championships.  

“We’ve got the ball rolling on the 2013 squad by retaining three great players from last season’s team,” said John Bryant, commissioner of the Puget Sound Region of USA Volleyball. 

The club is expected to announce that several more players from the 2012 inaugural season will rejoin the team within the next few days.  

Sanborn was part of the USA Youth National team before her collegiate career at Michigan State University.  At MSU she was selected to the All AVCA District 2 Team and First Team All Big 10 her junior year.  She earned All Big 10 Honorable mention during her injury shortened senior season.  She is from Colbert, WA and graduated from Mead High School.  

Silliman played her college ball at Arkansas State University and was the MVP of the 1999 Sunbelt Conference Tournament.   The California native played for San Ramon Valley High School and helped anchor the middle of the Sound Premier Volleyball Team defense in 2012.  

Anna Herold with a dig at the 2012 Inter-Squad scrimmage. 

Herold came to the Sound Premier Volleyball Team after completing four years with the Seattle Pacific University Falcons where she set the school’s all-time digs record.  Herold attended Shorecrest High School where she earned All Wesco First Team honors four times.  

The Sound Premier Volleyball Team will play their first match of the season on February 22 at Sunrise Courts in Puyallup.