A matter of faith and belief

Through the urging of her friend Morgan Goslin, Bass decided to message Big Bend Community College coach Joni Nagy.

As fate would have it, Nagy had an open roster slot available.

After a rigorous tryout and scrimmage with the team in late April, right at the end of the session, Nagy printed out a scholarship offer to Bass, to serve as the Viking’s new setter.

“I just knew that this was God’s plan and it was laid out for me to just know that it was going to work out for the best,” Bass said. “God knew that this change would give me a new perspective on life and how to handle different things.

“I am moving on to college and I am not scared because I have already moved before and I have the experience on how handle a new environment and new people and new challenges. If it is God’s will, then I am all for it.”

Bass moved from Ellensburg, Wash., in 2014 and spent her junior season playing some minutes on the varsity level, while she became more acclimated to the 6-2 formation TD head coach Neticia Fanene instituted.

In her senior year, with Bass at the controls from her setter position, the Riverhawks were victorious in 22 matches and won 59 sets and ended action with a No. 6 ranking in the 5A classification, finishing one win short of earning a trip to the state tournament site.

She finished with 605 assists on the season, averaging at 8.5 assists a game, but also added some defense, serving and leadership to her repertoire.

At the year-end banquet, Bass, a first-team Columbia River Conference winner and one of the team captains, was named as the Most Inspirational Player.

“We knew we had a player coming into a new community, a new environment, a new atmosphere and a new family, but Savannah came in and acclimated herself so well,” Fanene said.

“From the first time I saw her, I knew her athleticism and volleyball smarts would be key to helping this team out.

“She had the ability, she had the setter’s hands and she came right in and was a major part of our success.”

While at the Moses Lake, Wash. institution, Bass, a 3.0 grade point average student, will focus on math, english and history classes, but is unsure of what areas of study she will eventually turn her primary focus upon.

Business, law and nursing could be careers she looks to, and given her past experience as a Sunday school teacher and working with eighth graders at The Dalles Middle School, being an instructor is not out of the realm of possibility.

Fanene said the college life and athletics is a process and that as an incoming freshman, it will come down to time management, organization, and being able to prioritize tasks varying from volleyball, school and everything else. It is definitely a learning experience, but Fanene has faith Bass will do very well.

“The door certainly opened for her to walk through and the Lord gets the credit for that,” said Kim Renard, Savannah’s mother.

“It has been a journey. I think that it always comes at the right time. God’s timing is perfect. For her to have this opportunity to go to school and to play for Big Bend is a blessing. And we are certainly grateful to the Lord for that.”

Now the biggest area of change comes in the household, as Renard called Savannah one of her best friends.

The two can be open and honest about all subjects and through each other develop a plan of action.

Although Savannah is moving 205 miles away, Renard said she is a phone call away.

“I will probably cry every single day because it is going to be hard to move on. She has been my rock for close to 18 years of my life,” Bass said of her mother.

“That is part of maturity and growing up, knowing that I am going to college and I need to be an adult and handle things when they come my way.

“It is not going to be easy, I know that, but I know I can always call my mom and I can rely on my friends and my faith in God to know that I can make it through anything.”

Bass heads to a Big Bend program that went 11-25 last season, 4-10 in Eastern region play for sixth place.

The Vikings lost five sophomore athletes to graduation, so Bass joins a relatively young roster this upcoming fall.

Goslin knows Bass will step right in and make an immediate impact.

“She’s an amazing teammate, she works hard every day, she is one of the most talented setters I’ve ever seen and BBCC is lucky to have such an outstanding athlete,” Goslin said.

“She has already been acknowledged for her abilities on the court prior to signing her letter of intent and she will continue doing great things here and be recognized for it. I have no doubt that she will play a vital role in the 2016 volleyball season at Big Bend, if she continues being the team player she is.”