Submitted photo – The WaveRiders

A group of local volleyball players are closing out their travel club careers with a bang after a strong showing at a tournament in Redding over the weekend.

The WaveRiders Volleyball Club, which is made up of seniors from Fortuna and Eureka high schools, will play one more tournament before concluding their time together with head coach Zane Easley.

After that, most of the players hope to continue their playing careers at the college level.

And if this past weekend was any indication, they have the tools necessary to succeed there.

With just six players on hand for the trip to Redding, the WaveRiders battled back from some struggles early in the day to finish strong and place second overall in the 19-team tournament.

The WaveRiders placed third out of four teams in pool play, but displayed a lot of heart as they responded to that by winning multiple games on their way to reaching the final, where they would eventually fall to the NSVA Club, which dominated all day.

“We had to play from the bottom up through the bracket,” Easley said. “But we played consistent all afternoon and we worked our way back to the (championship game).”

And they did it without any substitutes available, while also showcasing their volleyball IQ.

“They were just resilient and they just came up with incredible ideas,” Easley added. “I try to get them to problem solve out on the court, and they would just invent something right out of the clear blue sky during timeouts. They adjusted every time they came together. It was incredible to watch.”

The six-player squad included Sarah Keating, Khalil Lodes, Jayden Rollins-Edgmon, Anna Stacy, Anisha Recheluul and Natalie Rogers.

Easley has been working with the players for the past two years and the team’s collective knowledge of the game has impressed him during that time, along with their versatility.

“I’ve tried them at every position, so any of them can switch positions,” the coach said. “We were down one starter, but it wasn’t a problem to change the rotation. And that’s what we’ve been doing. Teaching them every position.”

The NSVA Club, which Easley described as the No. 1 volleyball team in the Redding area, won the final in three sets, 21-13, 21-23,15-11, to cap an unbeaten day in the tournament, but the WaveRiders gave them more problems than most.

“Those girls played all day without anyone coming close to them, but we surprised them,” said Easley, who added “This was definitely our biggest success this year. We’re already a small team compared to everyone we meet, and then we lost our other middle (on the Monday before the tournament), so we lost some much-needed height and took the team down to the minimum roster number of six.

“They just put everything they had out there and fought hard.”

The long-time coach says he will retire from coaching after this weekend’s tournament in Medford.

But this was a nice way to end his career.

“I’ve been coaching for 30 years and have been blessed with a lot of big moments, but this tournament, with all the challenges and the way they played, is definitely the highlight of my career and a good way to end my coaching career,” he said.

Easley says two of his players are considering taking their talents to College of the Redwoods.

“They were amazing,” he said of last weekend’s performance. “Every one of them had an amazing day.”