2A gets a new volleyball champion as Ridgefield takes its first state title since 1990

When the day began, Class 2A was guaranteed to have a state volleyball champion other than Burlington-Edison or Tumwater for the first time since 2012.

After the first two sets of both semifinal matches at Marcus Pavilion on the Saint Martin’s University campus in Lacey, you’d never have guessed which school it would be.

Columbia River was ahead of Ridgefield 2-0 in one semifinal, Ellensburg led Lynden in the other by the same score.

But both the Spudders and Lions roared back to take 3-2 matches, with Ridgefield winning the later championship match, 3-1, to claim its first state title since hoisting the 1A trophy way back in 1990.

In the only trophy game involving South Sound teams, Fife swept White River, 3-0, to take seventh place to the Hornets eighth.

In its championship victory, Ridgefield was led by 6-foot-1 junior Delaney Nicoll’s 29 kills, 16 digs and two blocks. Libero Emilea Stepaniuk contributed 17 digs.

Ridgefield has been a regular visitor to Marcus Pavilion for the 2A tourney, but it took head coach Sabrina Dobbs nine years to finish first.

“I can’t even explain how exciting this is,” Dobbs said. “It’s so overwhelming and I’m so proud of my girls. After we won our River match, I think we knew that our mental toughness would help us win anything today.”

Kameryn Reynolds, a 6-2 middle blocker and the Spudders’ only senior, also felt the crown was a long time coming.

“Absolutely unreal,” Reynolds, who contributed five kills and a block said. “We’re mentally strong and so bonded this year. It got us all the way. I couldn’t thank my coaches and team mates more. We did this together.”

Ridgefield survived 14 lead changes to win the first set, 27-25, before getting dusted in the second by a determined Lynden, 25-15. With the score 9-4, Lions middle hitter Savonne Sterk went to the service line, sparking an 8-0 run that made any chance of a Ridgefield comeback moot.

“We checked ourselves after that and went back in and played hard,” Dobbs said.

“I’m not going to say I knew we’d come back,” Reynolds said. “But I hoped .we would. I believe in every single girl on the court.”

In the third set, things tightened up again, before Ridgefield took it, 31-29. Eighteen consecutive points leading to Nicoll’s cross-court kill on set point either tied the score or gave a team the lead.

Losing that one may have taken the sting out of Lynden’s attack as, after leading 4-3 early in the fourth, they went down 25-16.

Fife’s victory over White River was its third in a row over the Hornets, counting league play. It was never close as the Trojans rolled 25-15, 25-9, 25-15.

Tori Schmidtke led White River with nine kills and had five digs. Noelle Mills had 19 digs and Sarah Elmore 13 assists and three aces.