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Olympia captured its second state title in school history Saturday night, defeating Kentwood, 23-25, 25-18, 14-25, 25-6, 15-13, in the Class 4A championship match in front of hometown crowd of nearly 500 Olympia fans including its band at Marcus Pavilion.
It’s the Bears’ second title in school history and both first-place trophies have while playing at a state tournament at Saint Martin’s. In 1998, Olympia defeated Selah for the AA state championship on the same floor as Saturday night’s win.
“This is a sweet victory,” Olympia coach Laurie Creighton said. “It’s an awesome way to finish off a great season. I hope they cherish this.”
Olympia (32-4) started the day by beating defending 4A state champion Jackson in four sets in a championship-caliber semifinal that didn’t end until Christie Colasurdo’s 14th kill in the fourth set that gave Olympia the 28-26 set win, after the Bears trailed by two at 24-22. Kentwood, champions of the SPSL North, swept Curtis in three sets after a late-night quarterfinal match win over Kent-Meridian on Friday to advance to its first title match since winning it all in 1986.
After dominating the fourth set, 25-6, to the match at two sets apiece, Olympia trailed by as many as five in the fifth set at 8-3 off a kill by Kentwood’s Mikaela Ballou, but Olympia used its big size at the net, let by 6-foot-4 middle hitter Michaela Berendt to stage a comeback. The Bears went on a mini run to take the lead at 10-9. There were two lead changes in the final points.
Saturday was the third time Olympia and Kentwood, both from West Central District III, faced off this season. The Bears also won the previous two matchups, including a 3-1 win over Kentwood at the West Central/Southwest bi-district tournament semifinals.
Colasurdo, the tournament MVP, had a team-best 20 kills and finished with 74 total kills in four tournament matches, including a school-record 26 kills in Friday night’s five-set win over Mead. She also became the school’s single-season kills leader this weekend, breaking the previous mark of 401 set by Kristen Johnson in 1997.
