Prep Roundup: Rockets sweep Chinooks to win district volleyball title
Sunday, November 9, 2008 9:10 AM PST
By Rick McCorkle
Printable version
E-mail this articleMONTESANO — Facing the same team three times this season hasn’t been a problem for Castle Rock.
Just like in their previous two meetings with Kalama, the Rockets stuck to their game plan Saturday to sweep the Chinooks 25-14, 25-20, 25-17 in the championship match of the Southwest 1A District volleyball tournament.
Both Castle Rock (17-0) and Kalama (10-7) are headed to the Class 1A State Volleyball Championships on Nov. 14-15 in the Yakima SunDome.
“This was a phenomenal finish for us in the district tournament, and it’s a great feeling to take a perfect record into the state tournament,” CR coach Jeana Bayes said. “Kalama has some strong players, and we wanted to stop them while continuing to put the ball down. I thought we did a good job in both respects.”
Lacey Seidl led the Rockets with 12 kills and nine service points. Emmy Dolan and Amelia Manring had nine kills apiece, and Heather Shulke amassed 24 assists and had six digs.
“After seeing Kalama so many times, we knew who their hitters were and where their defensive players were at,” Bayes added. “We were able to pick up on their little changes, and it’s nice to see us play together and put the ball where we needed to.”
K.C. Schmit led Kalama with 12 kills, with Chelsea Rinard hammering six. Erika Freeman had four stuff blocks and Haley Bellows dished 24 assists.
“We didn’t really put up much of a fight against Castle Rock, and I’m not sure why we do what we do against them,” Kalama coach Jeni O’Neil said. “I guess it’s a mental thing. I’m still proud of my team because we haven’t been to state in two seasons, and this will be a new experience for all of these girls.”
Columbians fifth at state
EUGENE — The Rainier Columbians ran out of gas in their third-place match against Cascade Christian, falling 25-16, 25-12, 25-17 to finish fifth in the Oregon Class 3A State Volleyball Championships at Lane College on Saturday.
Rainier’s fifth-place finish was its highest placing since the Columbians took eighth in 2001, and ended a six-year trophy drought.
In the first game, Rainier fell behind 12-5 and later slipped to a 23-15 deficit before the Challengers from Jacksonville claimed victory. The Columbians also struggled with Cascade Christian’s size in the second game and trailed 20-7.
In game three, Rainier trailed 9-3 before scoring six unanswered points to later trail 12-10. A dump over the net by Cassie Hanks kept Rainier close at 20-16, but the Challengers outscored Rainier 5-1 in the closing moments to seal the match.
MM loses, but still alive
Mark Morris suffered its first loss of the season Saturday in a Southwest 2A District volleyball semifinals against Black Hills at Ted M. Natt Court.
The Monarchs (15-1) can still advance to the state tournament by beating Ridgefield on Thursday in a consolation match.
Mark Morris swept Aberdeen 25-11, 25-12, 25-10 in the first round Saturday before falling 25-17, 25-18, 25-20 to Black Hills.
Against Aberdeen, Tara Anderson served 19 points with three aces and had six digs, and Rebecca Haight pounded 14 kills, served 12 points with seven aces, and had six digs. Shawna Smith served 12 points with three aces, McKinzi Williams had four kills and three blocks, Danielle Gilchrist dished 26 assists and Shantelle Savage had five kills.
Haight had 15 kills, six digs and five points in the loss to Black Hills. Anderson (six points, two blocks), Smith (four points, five digs), Savage (seven kills, four digs), Williams (four kills, two blocks) and Jill Isaacson (four points, six digs, outstanding defense) also played well. Gilchrist handed out 23 assists.
Jills one win from state
R.A. Long bounced back from a tournament-opening loss to Black Hills by sweeping Aberdeen 25-21, 25-15, 25-13 at Ted M. Natt Court on Saturday in the Southwest 2A District volleyball tournament to move within one victory of advancing to state.
The Lumberjills (9-5) play Hockinson on Thursday in a winner-to-state, loser-out match at Mark Morris.
Against Black Hills, R.A. Long “didn’t play bad,” said head coach Jennifer Hefley.
“We just didn’t up our game.”
Marnee Clancy had 10 service points with three aces, Kaylie Dobbins had 10 kills and one block, Katie Sarysz added five kills and four blocks, Brittany Weiand had 11 assists, and Hannah Johnson nine assists as the Jills fell 25-18, 25-16, 25-21.
Kiana Mawae served 18 points in the win over Aberdeen. Johnson (15 assists, four blocks) and Megan McCormack served seven points apiece, Weiand had eight points including four aces, Aryn Aston had six kills, Johnson had 15 assists and four blocks, Dobbins had four kills, and Sarysz had four kills and one block.
CROSS COUNTRY
MM boys, girls place
PASCO — The Mark Morris boys and girls cross country teams had strong finishes to cap their respective seasons in the Class 2A portion of the Washington State Cross Country Championships at Sun Willows Golf Course on Saturday.
MM placed 10th in the boys’ team standings with 236 points, and was 12th among the girls’ teams with 287.
Sehome won the boys’ team title with 71 points, with Burlington-Edison finishing second with 90. Tumwater placed ninth with 212, W.F. West was 12th with 315 and Black Hills grabbed 16th with 428.
Chase Bussing led the Monarch boys in 27th place (16:39), followed by Nate Starr (30th, 16:41), Brandon Kuljis (49th, 17:02), J.J. Jason (105th, 18:02), Zach Hutton (108th, 18:03), Andres Rodriguez (110th, 18:04) and Kelly Loch (133rd, 18:56).
Nathan Richards of R.A. Long completed the race in 113th place in 18:10.
Selah’s James Currell won the boys’ race in 16:06, with Clinton Overman of Sehome finishing second in 16:08.
Sehome also won the girls’ team title with 93 points, edging runner-up Cedarcrest with 99. Hockinson placed 11th with 271, W.F. West had 311 for 13th, River Ridge finished 14th with 350 and Black Hills placed 16th with 353.
Joanna Feeney led the Monarchs in 39th place in 20:11, followed by Hayley Brusewitz (53rd, 20:36), Savina Rodriguez (71st, 21:11), Julia Chun (94th, 21:59), Natalie Loring (127th, 23:42) and Shaina Barsalou (133rd, 24:36).
RAL’s Allison Schneider placed 124th in 23:14.
Allison Cutting of Sequim won the girls’ race in 18:25, finishing nine seconds better than Ruby Roberts of Kingston.
Ulbricht, Ilwaco boys shine
PASCO — Ilwaco’s Cameo Ulbricht grabbed a top-15 placing, and the Ilwaco boys finished 10th in the team standings in the Class 1A portion of the Washington State Cross Country Championships at Sun Willows Golf Course on Saturday.
Lakeside won the boys’ team title with 65 points, followed by Charles Wright Academy with 85 and King’s with 108. Ilwaco tallied 235 points, La Center finished a point back in 11th with 236, Rainier, Wash., was 14th with 334, and Montesano placed 15th of the 16 complete teams with 353.
Stephen Berglund paced the Ilwaco boys in 23rd overall (17:12), followed by Evin LaPlatney (35th, 17:33), Tanner Weidner (62nd, 18:02), Mitchel Mortenson (89th, 18:38), Jason Huntley (129th, 19:58), Owen Sutherland (139th, 21:11) and Zhuang Zhuang Zhao (141st, 21:44).
Winlock’s Josh Rose placed 34th in 17:32, Ronnie Neumann of Toledo was 61st in 18:01 and Ryan Chiodo of Kalama finished 69th in 18:14. Kaj Holten of Castle Rock placed 73rd in 18:17, and Willie Reynolds of Toledo was 88th in 18:37.
Port Townsend runners Quinton Decker and Bereket Piatt grabbed the top two places in 15:56 and 16:10, respectively.
In the girls’ race, Ilwaco’s Ulbricht placed 12th in 20:25. The top 12 placers all received medals from the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association.
“It’s a nice way for us to end the season with Cameo receiving a medal and getting our boys’ team to state,” Ilwaco coach Sarah Taylor said. “We’re losing two seniors to graduation, but we should have everyone back next season.”
Kalama’s Taylor Loree was 87th in 23:04, and Jenny Martin of Toledo finished 104th in 24:08.
Maddie Meyers of Northwest High in Seattle won the girls’ race in 18:53, 41 seconds better than runner-up Olivia Thomas of King’s.
King’s edged La Center 49-80 to win the girls’ team crown, with Chelan a distant third with 115.
Reitz, Pugh run well
PASCO — Naselle runner Nathan Reitz and Bradlee Pugh of Wahkiakum were the top finishers for their respective teams in the Class 2B portion of the Washington State Cross Country Championships at Sun Willows Golf Course on Saturday.
Northwest Christian grabbed the team title with 52 points, which included four runners finishing in the top 10. Reardan was second with 77 points, followed by Republic with 119.
Wahkiakum and North Beach tied for 11th place with 276 points apiece, and Naselle finished in 15th with 329.
Reitz led the Comets with a 27th-place finish in 18:08, followed by Drew Macy (79th, 19:23), Alex Bennett (99th, 19:59), Ollie Baker (101st, 20:11), Conor Smith (102nd, 20:13), Cramer Smith (103rd, 20:15) and Alex Bighill (128th, 25:05).
For Wahkiakum, Pugh placed 37th in 18:16, followed by Connar Riley (57th, 18:48), Kevin O’Connor (64th, 19:00), Collan Riley (70th, 19:08), Stuart Bosch (121st, 21:28), Riley Prestegard (123rd, 21:52) and Ben Miles (124th, 22:09).
“This is the best placing we’ve had as a team at state,” Wahkiakum coach Mike Riley said. “Our previous best was 13th in 2003. It was a tough course, but we all had to run it the same and we did as well as we could.”
Valley Christian’s Jeff Pope won the race in a course-record time of 16:12, followed by Scott Strang of Odessa in 16:52.
In the girls’ race, Northwest Christian edged Asotin 60-68 to win the team title, Saint George’s placed third with 73 and White Pass was fourth with 112.
Neola Putnam of Trout Lake/Glenwood won the race in 19:18, with Kate Reidy of Saint George’s a close second in 19:37.
Kelso’s Davis takes 63rd
PASCO — Kelso’s Bryce Davis clocked a 16:37 and grabbed 63rd place in the boys’ portion of the Class 4A State Cross Country Championships at Sun Willows Golf Course on Saturday.
Redmond’s Mack Young won the boys’ race in 15:18, with Central Kitsap’s Shane Moskowitz placing second in 15:21.
Eastlake edged Gig Harbor 96-97 to win the girls’ team crown.
garfield08 wrote on Nov 10, 2008 8:59 AM:
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