Volleyball tournament

Tekoa-Oakesdale won the State 1B volleyball tournament, defeating Colton 25-16, 25-13, 15-25, 25-23 in the championship match last Saturday night. Reardan garnered its second straight state championship in 2B volleyball, defeating Colfax 25-19, 25-23 and 25-17. In the 1A bracket, Colville overcame Castle Rock with scores of 26-24, 25-22 and 25-21.

With the floor divided up into six separate volleyball courts in two rows of three each, there wasn’t much room left over for fan seating. This fact must have drawn some complaints because additional bleachers were set up for day two of the tournament.

The 1B teams, being the low men on the totem pole, so to speak, were relegated to the center courts between the 1As and the 2Bs. Although netting was set up between the two rows of courts, the three individual courts on each side were separated only by scorers’ tables and chairs for the teams and coaches. This meant that errant balls from the courts on either side of them often landed in the center court and interrupted play. The point would be played over, but it was a distraction and an annoyance for the players.

These distractions were especially disruptive when the teams in the middle were still competing, while one or the other of the teams on the outside courts were starting their warmups and dozens of balls were flying all over the court.

The 16 teams qualifying for the state tournament were Wilbur-Creston, Lopez Island, Three Rivers Christian (Kelso), Colton, Thorp, Sunnyside Christian, Crescent (Joyce), Seton Catholic (Vancouver), Neah Bay, Moses Lake Christian Academy, Tekoa-Oaksdale, Almira/Coulee-Hartline, Shorewood Christian (Seattle), Lake Quinault, Odessa-Harrington and Christian Faith (Federal Way).

The final 16 teams were not determined until just before the tournament began. One team withdrew because it could not play any games on Saturday, its Sabbath.

Another Bi-County team, Wilbur-Creston, battled it out with Moses Lake Christian Academy for fifth and sixth, respectively. The Wildcats defeated Lopez Island in the first round, then came up against Colton in the second round, losing 3-0. They then defeated Thorp and MLCA to take the fifth-place trophy.

The Titans’ prospects look good for next year. They will lose four seniors to graduation – Kira Powell, Charli Moffet, Hailey Williams and Kaitlin Estep – but only Moffet was a consistent starter. Returning next year will be this years’ juniors, Koralynne Kuch, Kendall Todd and Melani Fehrer. Amanda Hardt will likely join her family in their move to Arizona and complete high school there. Lexie Hirst of Harrington is also a junior, so the team’s premier server will be back.

Current sophomores are Hannah Schmidt and Chelsea Fisher of Odessa and Cydnee Kieffer of Harrington. Harrington freshmen Jenna Schafer and Jordyn Tanke will almost certainly return next year. Tanke’s quickness and athleticism earned her a starting spot this year, and she will only get better with increasing maturity. Odessa players Katelyn Worley, a freshman with a very strong right arm, and sophomore McKenna Watkins will also likely be back next year. Another Odessa sophomore, Alexa Boss, was playing very well toward the end of the season and had improved dramatically over the past year. It is hoped that she, too, will return to the team next year.