4A CLASS
PUYALLUP 3, MOUNT RAINIER 0
Last year, the Rams knocked the Vikings out of the District 3/4 4A volleyball tournament and sent them home. From now on, coach Elie Schumacher and her team are working to go back to that moment and rewrite it for themselves.
And they did. Entering the season undefeated at 18-0, Puyallup won its next four games by a combined score of 12-0. They didn’t just win districts, they absolutely dominated the rest of the contest, including a rematch against Mount Rainier.
“I think going into this season we wanted this to be our redemption year,” Schumacher said. “We didn’t get the finish we wanted last year, so this group of girls came back very hungry this season. We approach every match as if it is the biggest match we will play this season. It doesn’t matter what games we’ve won in the past, our record is 0-0 in the game we’re playing and the other team wants to take us down.”
Senior outside hitter Ivy Windiewicz and senior libero Sophia Sheppard led the way for the Vikings in their win over the Rams. Their leadership on the court proved invaluable as they commanded the attack and defense with ease.
A win for Puyallup would definitely put them in the 4A state tournament. Coach Schumacher hopes that her team will continue to follow their approach to every team that wants to beat them and that they want to prove that they are the best team in the state.
OTHER SCHOOLS
Mount Rainier will be the runner-up in the district tournament as they advanced to the championship with a 3-0 win over Curtis earlier Saturday afternoon. However, they already had an automatic berth to the state tournament as they clinched their spot with 3-0 wins over Emerald Ridge and 3-0 over Union on Friday.
Curtis will finish third at districts after a 3-1 win over Camas and earn a spot at state. And just like in Mount Rainier, a 3-0 win over Kentwood and a 3-2 win over Graham-Capousin on Friday guaranteed them a spot.
Speaking of Graham-Kapowsin, the Eagles, Olympia and Kennedy Catholic also earned their spots at state. Graham-Kapowsin and Kennedy Catholic earned automatic spots with 5th/6th place finishes, while Olympia beat Bellarmine 3-1 for the spot.
3A CLASS
NO 1 PENINSULA 3, NO. 8 GIG HARBAR 1
Somehow, the District 3 3A volleyball tournament was going to come down to the Seahawks and the Tides. Such events always happen.
In the third meeting between these top 3A programs, SSC Peninsula carried the momentum of its 3-0 win over Prarie earlier in the day. But in the matchup against Gig Harbor, these teams brought the intensity each other expected.
The first order of business was that the Seahawk defense stopped the Tides’ momentum as they fresh off a 3-2 win over North Thurston.
“[Senior outside hitter] Langley Griffin was on fire tonight, I don’t think anyone could have stopped her,” coach Katrina Cardinal said. “She was very intense on the court. It was quite heated as there were exchanges between the players. Gig Harbor was getting blocks, and it fired her up so much that Griffin, as a strong outside hitter, took over the team in the matchup.
Griffin’s intensity was also contagious, as freshman middle Sam Carjello began to feed off of it and get blocks for Peninsula when they needed it most. Senior Laney Sneva also sensed Griffin’s intensity and began using that cannon to get points for the Seahawks in crunch moments as well.
Junior libero Evalyn Sutherland played the most important role for Peninsula as she was able to collect 25 digs against the Tides. By keeping those balls alive, the Seahawks turned their way and took the district title away from their rivals.
Fortunately, both teams are destined for the 3A state tournament, so a possible fourth round between these schools is still on the table.
OTHER SCHOOLS
With last night’s 3-0 win over Silas, North Thurston has already clinched a spot in the 3A state tournament. However, their seeds took a hit, losing 3-2 to Gig Harbor earlier on Saturday. However, this did not stop them. In the last match of the day, North Thurston beat Prairie 3-0 to finish third in the districts.
Silas also clinched a spot in the 3A state tournament, albeit with a 3-1 loss to Kelso that placed them sixth at districts. That loss came after a 3-0 win over Central Kitsap in their first match of the day, followed by Auburn Riverside in their second.
Auburn Riverside finished seventh in the district tournament with a 3-0 win over Spanaway Lake to earn the final berth in the state playoffs. Their first match of the day was a 3-1 win over Capital, but they were then beaten by Silas. The Sentinels fell just short of a playoff spot after opening the day with a promising 3-0 win over Lincoln, but then lost their next game 3-0 to Kells.
CLASS 2A (district 3)
NO 2 WASHINGTON 3, NO. 8 FIFE 1
25-15, 25-27, 25-16, 25-18
Although Fife was the Cinderella story of the District 2/3 2A volleyball tournament, the clock struck midnight when they met the Patriots.
After dropping the first two sets of the match, coach Paul Souza’s team rallied and counted on the team of senior outside hitters Sirena Pereda and Mama Leia to take over. And they completely coped.
“FIFA played over their heads in the tournament, they were one of those teams that just caught fire,” Souza said. “We got off to a slow start and the next thing you know, they were ahead. Pereda is our league’s MVP and just broke the school record with over 800 kills at Washington. The whole group has done really well since freshman year and I hope that leads to a deep run at state.”
Washington’s defense stepped up against the Trojan offense, scoring 16 and 18 points, respectively, in the next two games. That set them up for a district title and a prime spot for the state tournament.
OTHER SCHOOLS
Despite the loss in the district championship, Fife is guaranteed a spot in the 2A state tournament. Earlier in the day, they ran away from White River with a 3-0 win (26-24, 25-21, 35-22).
White River was also guaranteed a spot in the 2A state tournament when they were sent to the 3rd/4th place game against Enumclaw. In the closest match of the day, Enumclaw edged White River 3-2 (25-23, 23-25, 25-19, 23-25, 16-15).
CLASS 2A (District 4)
BLACK HILLS 3, TUMWATER 0
The Black Hills High School volleyball team clinched a trip to the 2A state tournament after defeating Tumwater 3-0. After an initial first round win from Mark Morris, the Wolves came back strong with a 3-0 win over RA Long in their second round of the district tournament.
As for the T-Birds, they actually won their first round matchup against Hawkinson 3-0. However, in their second round game against Ridgefield, they fell 3-0 in the consolation bracket, where they lost to Black Hills.
WF West joins Tumwater and also misses the state tournament. In their opening round, the Bearcats were shut out by Ridgefield, 3-0. In their next round, WF West kept their tournament hopes alive with a 3-1 win over Hawkinson.
Unfortunately for the Bearcats, their streak came to an end against Mark Morris as they were shut out 3-0 in the final round.
1A CLASS
NO. 1 MEMBER 3, NO. 2 ANNIE WRIGHT 0
25-17, 25-18, 25-19
The Golden Gators made school history by finishing second in the WIAA 1A state volleyball tournament, as no other sport at Annie Wright finished higher than fourth.
Earlier in the day, the Golden Gators faced off against Cascade Christian for the fifth time of the season. Although coach Jeff Groshans always warns his team that it is difficult to beat an opponent three times in a row, Annie Wright was able to overcome the Cougars.
Again led by the tenacious court game of senior Rae Wortel, the Golden Gators defeated Cascade Christian 25-16, 25-15 and 25-13. That set the stage for Annie Wright to face the top-seeded Mountain Goats.
“We knew we had work ahead of us. We watched them last year and knew how powerful they are,” said coach Grosshans. “Our goal was to be with them at the championship. We were going to fight against them eventually, and we did. To be honest, it was the best loss we could have had. A few years ago we set a goal to get here, and now that box has been ticked.”
If Wartel can get more sets, she will have a chance to take over the game for the Golden Gators. However, Chelan kept the ball away from her as best she could and that left top striker Annie Wright underutilized.
The win marked Chelan High School’s third state championship.
NO. 5 LINDEN CHRISTIAN 3, NO. 6 CASCADE CHRISTIAN 2
23-25, 23-25, 25-11, 25-15, 15-9
Although they were outplayed by Annie Wright, it wasn’t for lack of effort on the part of the Cougars. The incredibly young team just didn’t have what it takes to overcome the opposition, and that left them in a battle with the Lyncs for 3rd place in the WIAA 1A State Volleyball Tournament.
However, that didn’t stop Cascade Christian from rallying to make it an exciting five-set match.
“We knew what we were up against, but we didn’t agree and we got together for the next game,” coach Jeff Suarez said. “I am very proud of these girls. They are very young, but we performed very well. When things went our way, we rode. Annie Wright beat us and it could have been easy to roll over, but we fought hard against Linden Christian. They have championship experience and they have been great on the court.”
The Cougars narrowly missed out on a third-place finish after going 2-0 in the two-game sweep, 23-25. However, the experience that Lyncs shined through and took over the match.
However, in the fifth and final match, Cascade Christian won at one point, 8-7. But Linden Chrisitan rallied to win the final set and take home their best finish at state since 2018, when they finished first.
