The Bears dropped the opening set to the Vancouverr team, but bounced back for a 23-25, 25-19, 25-15, 25-14 quarterfinal victory Thursday night at the Toyota Center.
“Tonight was all about defense,” Olympia coach Laurie Creighton said. “The net game, in terms of defense, was enormous.”
The win puts Olympia in the final four against Issaquah at 11:30 a.m. today. The winner gets a spot in the 4A state title match at 6 p.m. Should the Bears beat Issaquah, it would be the third time they will have played for a state title – including winning it all in 1998 at Saint Martin’s University.
Olympia defeated Snohomish, 25-14, 26-25, 25-15, 25-21, in an opening-round match. By winning both matches Thursday, Olympia has guaranteed itself its third straight state trophy,
Against Skyview, tough serving and strong defense at the net were the big keys for the Bears. Sophomore Michaela Berendt, who is 6-foot-4, had 12 block assists and one solo block.
“That’s enormous,” Creighton said. “That was huge. We did a very good job of blocking.”
Complementing Berendt’s blocking totals were the seven block assists apiece from Jennifer Liedes and Erika Waldner, as well as Olivia Rethwill’s five.
Offensively, the Bears were led by Lauren Herseth’s match-high 14 kills. Christie Colasurdo had 10 kills, and Liedes and Berendt had nine and seven, respectively. Setters Michelle Christy and Alex Barrett dished out 21 and 14 assists, and libero Annie Sing had 20 digs.
The 4A tournament concludes today, while the 2A (8 a.m.) and 3A (1:30 p.m.) get under way at the Toyota Center.
