1996 Bethel HS Class AAA State Championship Volleyball Team

Back Row L. to R.: Judy Jennings (President, WIAA Executive Board), unknown, Christine Nelson, unknown, Valerie Lee, Michelle Barlow, Dori Bartusch, Rachel Gienger, Corrin Breon, Holly Hobbs, Jennifer Ladwig, Monica Lee, and Dairy Farmers of Washington representatives.
Front row L. to R.: Joanna Johnson, Jorden Gienger, Heather Mayo, Donja Walker, Malissa Reed, and John Reopelle

The 1996 Bethel volleyball team was a showcase in dominance. Under first-year head coach John Reopelle, the Braves concluded a perfect 34-0 record by defeating Prairie, 15-5 and 15-4, in the Washington state 3A championship match at the Spokane Coliseum.

"We dropped three games all year long," Reopelle said after the victory.

Reopelle had spent the previous eight years as an assistant coach at Bethel under Kevin Aoki. When Aoki left to become the head volleyball coach at Pacific Lutheran University, Reopelle took over a team that included seven returning starters and a sixth-place finish at state the year prior.

Bethel defeated Marysville-Pilchuck, Redmond and Kentridge in pool play during the first day of the tournament. Only the Kentridge match went into a third game.

The Braves followed that performance up with three sweeps on the final day: Auburn, Ferris and Prairie in the state championship match. The Ferris victory included an incredible comeback, as Bethel fell behind, 13-4, in the second game. Scoring 11 straight points, the Braves took the game and the match in come-from-behind fashion.

Despite the loss of three all-league players from the year before, Reopelle led his squad to the perfect season based on a team-first style. The coach even referred to the title run as "a true definition of a team effort."

Senior starters included Dori Bartusch, Donja Walker, Rachelle Gienger and Joanna Johnson, while the junior starters were Valerie Lee, Jorden Gienger and Holly Hobbs. Bartusch, Walker and Jorden Gienger earned first team all-league honors, while the rest of the starters earned second team recognition.