WIAA state volleyball championships primer
CLASS 4A STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Friday-Saturday, Toyota Center, Kennewick
Tickets: Single day — $10 adults, $7 students/senior citizens. All tournament — $14 adults, $10 students/senior citizens.
2014 champion: Bellarmine Prep
Friday’s opening-round schedule
11:30 a.m.: No. 4 Bellarmine Prep vs. Jackson, Court 1
11:30 a.m.: No. 1 West Valley (Yakima) vs. No. 10 University, Court 2
11:30 a.m.: No. 9 Central Valley vs. Emerald Ridge, Court 3
11:30 a.m.: Inglemoor vs. Puyallup, Court 4
1:30 p.m.: No. 3 Battle Ground vs. No. 5 Eisenhower, Court 1
1:30 p.m.: No. 7 Monroe vs. Graham-Kapowsin, Court 2
1:30 p.m.: No. 6 Mead vs. Tahoma, Court 3
1:30 p.m.: No. 2 Curtis vs. Eastlake, Court 4
Rest of schedule
Friday quarterfinals at 8:15 p.m. Saturday semifinals at 1 p.m. Saturday championship match at 7 p.m.
LOCAL TEAMS
Bellarmine Prep: No school except for Bellarmine Prep can say it has won three consecutive state volleyball titles. The only difference is this year the Lions enter the tournament as slight underdogs. Sophomore setter Hannah Pukis and 6-2 senior middle blocker Megan Jacobsen, who signed a letter of intent with the University of San Diego this week, run the Lions offense like a well-oiled machine.
Curtis: 4A SPSL champions. 4A West Central District champions. Now the Vikings look to add 4A state champions to that résumé. TNT All-Area Player of the Year Elly McEachern leads this group, which before this year’s breakthrough has often been second fiddle in its own league to Emerald Ridge. Curtis beat ER for the SPSL title, then followed with a win over three-time defending state champion Bellarmine Prep for the district title.
Emerald Ridge: Emerald Ridge’s state tournament losses in the past two years have only come against Bellarmine Prep, which also beat the Jaguars in the West Central District semifinals. Makenna Smith is 5-9, but she is Emerald Ridge’s go-to hitter with 342 kills and is a six-rotation player who this week signed a letter of intent to play volleyball at Central Washington next year. Sophomore setter Jadyn Mullen broke the Jaguars’ record for assists per match this year (9.9 per set) and has 780 assists.
Graham-Kapowsin: G-K took third in the 4A SPSL South this year behind powerhouses Curtis and Emerald Ridge, but the Eagles are no slouch. There’s a reason there are four SPSL South teams in the state tournament. G-K took Curtis to five sets earlier in the season in a loss. Ayla Carpenter, a 5-9 senior middle blocker, is one of just two seniors alongside setter Jordan Keane on a team with two freshmen and three sophomores.
Puyallup: The Vikings have only lost to Bellarmine Prep, Emerald Ridge, Curtis and Graham-Kapowsin this year. No one else. Puyallup, making its first state appearance since 2012, is a Cinderella team in this tournament after losing its second-round match against Emerald Ridge in districts before bouncing back to beat Kentwood and Olympia to advance. Kaitlin Sugai, a 6-1 sophomore outside hitter, is a force.
Tahoma: The Bears reached the state quarterfinals last season before losing to Battle Ground. They had to win three consecutive matches to make the state tournament after a first-round loss to Curtis. Both middle blocker Ginny Mehl, a junior, and outside hitter Emily Smith, a sophomore, were named to the first-team all-SPSL North team. Libero Maddie Drotning is the team’s lone senior.
TOP-RANKED TEAM
West Valley (Yakima): West Valley enters the state tournament 27-0 and has been ranked No. 1 in the state volleyball coaches poll for the past seven weeks. The Rams have the 4A Columbia Basin player of the year in junior outside hitter Jillian Berg. They are hoping to add a 4A title to their 3A title from 2011 and 2A title from 2012.
CLASS 3A STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Friday-Saturday, Toyota Center, Kennewick
Tickets: Single day — $10 adults, $7 students/senior citizens. All tournament — $14 adults, $10 students/senior citizens.
2014 champion: Auburn Riverside
Friday’s opening-round schedule
8 a.m.: No. 5 Auburn Riverside vs. Eastside Catholic, Court 1
8 a.m.: No. 3 Holy Names Academy vs. Enumclaw, Court 2
8 a.m.: No. 2 Kennedy Catholic vs. Stanwood, Court 3
8 a.m.: No. 8 Mount Spokane vs. Bishop Blanchet, Court 4
9:45 a.m.: No. 10 Kamiakin vs. No. 4 Mercer Island, Court 1
9:45 a.m.: No. 6 Shorewood vs. No. 9 Auburn Mountainview, Court 2
9:45 a.m.: No. 7 Lakeside of Seattle vs. Ferndale, Court 3
9:45 a.m.: No. 1 Columbia River vs. Prairie, Court 4
Rest of schedule
Friday quarterfinals at 5 p.m. Saturday semifinals at 1 p.m. Saturday championship match at 7 p.m.
LOCAL TEAMS
Auburn Mountainview: Kylie Lewis is about as dangerous an outside hitter as there is in the 3A state tournament. The Boise State commit is a six-rotation player who combines a 6-2 frame with a strong spike. Auburn Mountainview had a tough time with league rival Auburn Riverside this year (0-3 against the Ravens) but it certainly has the talent to make a deep run into the 3A state tournament.
Auburn Riverside: Kiana Drumheller, Kasey Holand and Clarice Buchanan took over greater leadership roles this season after last year’s team lost key seniors, including the Gatorade Washington Player of the Year in Carson Heilborn, and ended the season ranked No. 60 in the nation by MaxPreps. Calley Heilborn, a sophomore and Carson’s younger sister, plays just about everywhere on the floor for the Ravens. She was just behind Drumheller and Holand for the team lead in kills during the regular season (144) and also added 18 blocks (most on the team) and 120 digs.
Enumclaw: Barbie Becker, a senior outside hitter, is the team’s unquestioned go-to player. She had 28 kills to lift the Hornets past Capital in five sets (after trailing 2-1) in a loser-out match at the district tournament.
TOP-RANKED TEAM
Columbia River: In what could end up being a wide open tournament, the Chieftains come in as the favorites after nipping Kennedy Catholic in five sets in the West Central/Southwest District title match. Their lone loss is to defending Class 2A champion Tumwater, but this senior-dominated lineup was close last season reaching the state semifinals — and now wants to finish it off.
CLASS 2A STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Friday-Saturday, St. Martin’s University, Lacey
Tickets: Single day — $10 adults, $7 students/senior citizens. All tournament — $14 adults, $10 students/senior citizens.
2014 champion: Tumwater
Friday’s opening-round schedule
9 a.m.: Liberty of Issaquah vs. No. 7 Ridgefield, Court 1
9 a.m.: No. 1 Archbishop Murphy vs. Othello, Court 2
9 a.m.: No. 4 North Kitsap vs. Anacortes, Court 3
11 a.m.: No. 5 Ellensburg vs. Sequim, Court 1
11 a.m.: No. 10 Pullman vs. No. 8 Woodland, Court 2
11 a.m.: No. 9 White River vs. Fife, Court 3
1 p.m.: No. 2 Burlington-Edison vs. No. 6 Selah, Court 1
1 p.m.: No. 3 Tumwater vs. Franklin Pierce, Court 3
Rest of schedule
Friday quarterfinals at 5 and 7 p.m. Saturday semifinals at 1 p.m. Saturday championship match at 5:30 p.m.
LOCAL TEAMS
Tumwater: It is another championship or bust for the Thunderbirds, who have the firepower to defending their 2A title. They are 17-0 in best-of-five-set matches — and their only tournament loss is to Burlington-Edison at the Capitol City Classic. Sophomore outside hitter Kennedy Croft is a dynamic playmaker and the 2A Evergreen Conference player of the year.
White River: Looking for a local peaking at the right time? The Hornets are on a nine-match winning streak, and won the West Central/Sea-King District title over North Kitsap in five sets. Everything runs through setter Mahealani Stone, the 2A SPSL most valuable player, who feeds outside hitters Taylor Keating and Kelsey Williams.
Franklin Pierce: Last season, the Cardinals ended their 34-year state tournament drought, but exited early with losses to Selah and Liberty of Issaquah. Lauren Baker is an all-league setter, and Malia Fakatoufifita can cover a lot of ground as one of the area’s top liberos.
Fife: This is the Trojans’ 27th appearance at the state championships — with state titles in 1992, 1996 and 1999. And while they were heavy underdogs against league rival White River, they still cannot be dismissed, especially with all-league outside hitter Arielle Barber around.
TOP-RANKED TEAM
Archbishop Murphy: The Wildcats rise to No. 1 after defeating Burlington-Edison, 3-1, in the 2A Northest District championship match. Carrying a 12-match winning streak into this weekend, they are playing great volleyball. They are tall at the net, led by juniors Sam Hayward and Jaime Cymbaluk. Hayward totaled 62 kills in three matches as Archbishop Murphy captured its first district crown since 2009.
ryan.chambers@thenewstribune.com
This story was originally published November 12, 2015 at 10:56 PM with the headline "WIAA state volleyball championships primer."