The Wolves heeded their coach’s warning.
Black Hills defeated Port Angeles in three straight games, 25-17, 25-21, 25-15, at Kennewick’s Toyota Center on Friday.
The Wolves then had a long wait before taking the floor for their quarterfinal match against West Valley of Spokane.
West Valley swept the Wolves in the consolation bracket with a 25-18, 25-17, 28-26 decision.
After meeting Port Angeles at 9:30 a.m., the Wolves didn’t return to the court until 7 p.m.
“It’s hard to have so much down time,” Peterson said.
Black Hills was the only 2A Evergreen Conference team to win a first-round match.
Tumwater, which lost to Black Hills in the district finals and was a No. 2 seed, lost to Grandview, 3-2, dropping a thriller, 23-25, 25-16, 20-25, 25-15, 15-11.
The T-Birds play Sequim in a loser-out match at 8 a.m. today.
River Ridge also lost its first-round match to Burlington-Edison, 3-0. The Tigers thumped the Hawks, 25-21, 25-18, 25-19.
Whitney Martin and Kendra Henry, Black Hills’ two lone returners off last year’s state-qualifying team, led the Wolves against Port Angeles.
“This is the first state experience for a lot of my kids,” Peterson said. “They’re a little nervous and excited at the same time. Whitney and Kendra are our two leaders, our two captains. They’ve been solid all season.”
Martin had 20 kills and two service aces, and Henry added eight kills against the Roughriders.
“Port Angeles was a big unknown for us,” Peterson said. “I just told the kids they’re here and in the top 16 in state. They’re going to be tough.”
In the 3A tournament, Capital, the 3A Narrows League champs, lost its opening-round match to Mount Spokane, dropping three closely fought games. The Wildcats handled the Cougars, 25-22, 26-24, 25-23, and dropped them into a loser-out match against Camas at 9:30 a.m. today.
Camas lost its opening match to Seattle Prep, 3-2, as the Papermakers fell 16-25, 25-23, 23-25, 25-14, 15-12.
Timberline also lost its opening-round match, 3-0, to Meadowdale. The Blazers, who shared the 3A Narrows League title with Capital, got off to a slow start and lost to the Mavericks, 25-13, 25-10, 27-25.
If Capital and Timberline win, the two rivals will play in the quarterfinals of the consolation bracket.
Black Hills plays Burlington-Edison today at 1:30 p.m. in a loser-out match.
