By Pierre LaBossiere
Peninsula Daily News
Thanks to a five-set victory in a win-or-go home match, Sequim volleyball is headed to the 2A state tournament, while undefeated Quilcene, which won the Tri-District 1B Tournament, is headed to the 1B state tournament along with Neah Bay.
Sequim had a tough row to hoe in its battle to make it to state, having to win two straight matches Saturday afternoon at the West Central District Tournament.
Sequim (15-3) went into districts as the No. 2 seed out of the Olympic League 2A Division. The Wolves first beat Clover Park, then lost 3-1 to Fife (25-15, 14-25, 25-12, 25-21), a 16-3 team out of the SPSL, sending the Wolves into the losers’ bracket Saturday afternoon. Ella Christiansen had nine kills and four blocks in that match, while Sydney Balkan had six aces, 17 assists and seven digs.
In the afternoon session, the Wolves first beat Olympic 3-1, the No. 4 seed out of the Olympic League, winning by the score of 25-21, 25-16, 22-25, 25-18. Balkan had 21 assists, 16 digs and served a perfect 16-for-16, while Adrienne Haggerty had 12 kills, 19 digs and served 16-for-17. Lillian Oden served 27-for-28 with three aces and at one point served eight straight points.
That win set up Sequim’s do-or-die match late Saturday. The Wolves faced off against Washington, which had earlier beaten Kingston. Washington came into the Sequim match as a 12-6 team out of the SPSL.
In a seesaw match, the Patriots gave the Wolves everything they could handle, taking Sequim to five sets. The Wolves were able to prevail 25-20, 22-25, 25-9, 20-25, 15-9 to move on to state as the No. 5 seed out of the West Central District.
“Our girls basically wore out Washington by hustling and keeping the ball in play in the fifth game,” said coach Jennie Webber Heilman.
Haggerty had a huge match with 18 kills, four aces, six blocks and 24 dig. Christiansen had 12 kills and Balkan 22 assists.
The Wolves will begin play at state at 11 a.m. Friday against Archbishop Murphy (18-0) at Saint Martin’s University in Lacey. North Kitsap is the only other Olympic 2A team to make it to the final 16 teams at state.
Tri-District 1B Tournament
Quilcene pushed its record to 20-0, winning the Tri-District Tournament Saturday by defeating Mount Vernon Christian 3-0.
Earlier in the day, the Rangers also beat Evergreen Lutheran to qualify for the championship match. The Rangers did not lose a single set at Tri-District.
Quilcene beat Mount Vernon Christian by a score of 25-20, 25-8, 25-12. Katie Love and Emily Hitt each had 11 kills, while Bailey Kieffer had nine kills. Love, Hitt, Kieffer, Katie Bailey and Allison Jones served a perfect 61-for-61. Abbygael Weller had 40 digs.
The Rangers beat Evergreen Lutheran by a score of 25-7, 25-10, 25-22. Bailey had five aces and five blocks while Weller had 42 digs and Hitt 16 kills.
Neah Bay actually gave the Rangers the hardest time Saturday. In its opening match in the morning, the Rangers beat the Red Devils, 25-23, 25-21, 25-14. Hitt had 8 kills and 13 digs while Kieffer had 10 kills.
The Rangers’ Allison Jones had 53 assists in the tournament.
After its loss to Quilcene, Neah Bay beat Providence Classical Christian 3-1 to qualify for state. In a seeding match, the Red Devils were beaten by Rainier Christian and finished sixth at Tri-District.
Clallam Bay will be the No. 3 seed to state from the tournament. Clallam Bay lost to Mount Vernon Christian and did not play a final match against Evergreen Lutheran Saturday.
Clallam Bay will begin play at the 1B State Tournament at 1:30 p.m. Friday at the SunDome in Yakima against Evergreen Lutheran.
The 1B State Tournament will be played at the Yakima Valley SunDome beginning Friday. Quilcene will open against Odessa-Harrington at 11:30 a.m., while Neah Bay will play at 9:45 a.m. against Oakesdale.
