The Tualatin volleyball team is young, but there is one familiar face in the center of the program: Coach Bridget Hinrichs, who led the program from 2013 to 2020.
When the coaching spot opened up and the school reached out to see if Hinrichs was interested, she was eager to get back to leading the school’s volleyball program.
Hinrichs said she was partially drawn back to the coaching job because of the chance to take over a young program and help build it back up. Last year, Tualatin when 2-15 overall and 0-12 in league play and the year prior the Timberwolves went 6-16 and 1-11 in league play.
“We have a lot to work on, a lot of room to grow,” she said. “We’re going up as a team.”
When Hinrichs led the program, they won at least six games in league play all but one year, and she was named Three Rivers League Coach of the Year in 2018 after leading Tualatin to a 15-8 record, including going 9-5 in league play.
The team Hinrichs is taking over is young with just one senior, Brooke Stoffer. The current roster has 12 girls, five of whom are sophomores and one who is a freshman.
“We graduated five from last year, but we have eight returning players,” Hinrichs said. “Three of them saw a good amount of playing time last year and have done a great job as leaders so far this year.”
Hinrichs said that in her first year back in charge and with such a young team, she has leaned on team captains Jaelyn Hinrichs, Georgia Biedritzky, and Taylor Winborne to help set the tone at practice and during matches.
Tualatin has already surpassed its win total from last year as the Timberwolves won their first three matches. The Timberwolves sit at 3-2 as of our press deadline after dropping two straight matches against Lake Oswego, which is 4-0 and ranked as the top team in the state as of our deadline.
Still, Hinrichs has been pleased with the team’s play early this season, especially the defense.
“We have four (defensive specialists) and all of them are very good,” Hinrichs said. “Their hard work is showing out on the court. I’m very confident with where our defense is at and very confident with the level and play in the back row.”
Those defensive specialists are Winborne, Stoffer, Nila Laylo, and Aero Nguyen.
Another player off to a solid start on the season is the team’s lone freshman, outside hitter Mara Leenders.
“I’ve been really impressed with her and the work she is putting in,” Hinrichs said. “She is proving she should be on the court.”
Hinrichs also said Isabella Kampfe, another outside hitter, has been a big catalyst for the team’s success early in the season, along with returning starter Kristin Guerra at middle blocker. Devin Brown, who also plays middle blocker, split her time last year as a freshman between varsity and junior varsity, and Hinrichs said has been playing well so far this year.
Tualatin opened its season on the road at Benson High School, and the Timberwolves swept the match in dominate fashion, especially their play up front. Biedritzky was a major factor in the win as the team’s setter, ensuring all those dangerous hitters were getting balls where they could launch them over the net for points.
Hinrichs has already seen improvement across the court this year from her young players, and it’s something she anticipates continuing throughout the year and beyond. She said Tualatin was able to field four teams this year, with varsity and three junior varsity, which she doesn’t remember being able to do in the past. Part of that is interest and part of that is the ability to recruit enough coaches to lead all those teams, she said.
Regardless of why Tualatin was able to field so many teams, it has Hinrichs thrilled about the future of volleyball in Tualatin.
“It’s my favorite thing as a coach to see the passion they have for the game and to see them put in the hard work,” she said. “That’s when you really get to see them grow. It’s exciting.”
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