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Black Hills downs Selah, gains semis

VOLLEYBALL: Wolves return to 2A semifinals, avenging a big loss from last year’s tournament in the process

MEG WOCHNICK; The Olympian | • Published November 14, 2009

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KENNEWICK – Redemption never felt so good.

When the Black Hills Wolves played the Selah Vikings at last year’s state tournament, the result was a 3-1 semifinal win for Selah, denying the Wolves the chance to play in their first state title game.

But after Black Hills’ 3-1 quarterfinals win over the Vikings on the opening day of the Class 2A and 3A state tournaments at the Toyota Center, the Wolves advance to today’s semifinal match with one of their biggest obstacles out of the way.

Led by senior Kailah Lenz’s team-high 17 kills and 19 digs, Black Hills defeated Selah, 25-19, 25-22, 16-25, 25-23, on Friday and will play Pullman at 2 p.m. today in the first of two semifinal matches.

The other semifinal pits Fife against Archbishop Murphy, also at 2 p.m.

The semifinal winners will play at 6:30 p.m. today for the 2A state title.

“This feels awesome,” Lenz said after the Selah match. “I’m so excited. We have such a desire to get as high (a finish) as we can.”

Black Hills advanced to the quarterfinals after a quick, first-round win over Washington earlier Friday, taking out the Patriots, 25-10, 25-10, 25-13.

But the match against Selah would prove to be a much tougher task.

The Wolves ran into a bit of trouble in the third game, after taking care of Selah the first two. Selah jumped out to a 10-1 lead before Black Hills started clawing its way back into the match and closing to five points at 12-7.

The fourth set was just as close as the second. Black Hills had a 22-17 lead before Selah started to chip away. Black Hills was its own worst enemy at times and let Selah cut the deficit to 24-23.

“We kind of took ourselves apart,” Black Hills coach Kara Peterson said. “They had the belief and did what they needed to do to win. They didn’t give up.”

Olympia was the first South Sound team to win a state trophy, earning a seventh-place finish Friday night.

After winning the first game, 25-21 against defending state champion Lewis and Clark, Olympia dropped the next three, but still put up a good fight in the process. The Bears finished sixth last season.

“Each of those last three games, they got some runs,” Olympia coach Laurie Creighton said. “And they responded well to those runs. I love the way the kids battled back.”

Olympia defeated Skyview late Thursday night, 3-1 in a loser-out match guaranteeing the Bears a trophy.

In Capital’s opening-round match on the 3A courts, nerves got the best of the Cougars in the first two games as Holy Names went up 2-0. The momentum began to swing Capital’s way halfway through the second game.

Even though Capital lost that game, 25-21, the Cougars came back from a double-digit deficit to bring it within four. Capital won by scores of 19-25, 21-25, 25-9, 25-22, 15-12.

Kristyn Ross took over in the final three games. She had a career-match, posting a school record 42 kills to go along with 22 digs, and setter Gabi Vega had 61 assists.

In the fifth and deciding game, there were five ties and Capital took the lead for good at 10-7 after a Ross kill.

“My team, we don’t give up,” Capital coach Natalie Zukowski said. “We have a lot of heart, passion and we can compete with anyone when we’re at our best.”

Later Friday night in the Cougars’ quarterfinals match against Mount Spokane, Capital dropped the match, 3-1 to move into the consolation bracket. The Cougars will face either Seattle Prep or Prairie at 3:30 p.m. today.

Mount Spokane got the best of Timberline, winning 25-21, 24-26, 25-16, 25-13, in the Blazers’ opening-round match.

The Blazers take on Holy Names at 9 a.m. today in a loser-out match. Against Mount Spokane, Timberline’s largest lead of the match came in the second game – 12-7. Soon after, Mount Spokane took the lead back at 15-14 after a kill by LeAnna Lloyd. The teams traded leads toward the end of the game, with four lead changes before Lyndsey Kellar’s kill gave them a 25-24 lead. Mount Spokane took control of the final two games after taking the lead for good after 10-9 in the third and 4-3 in the fourth. Kellar, and her sister, Alyssa, combined for 13 kills. Gatalina Schuster dished out 24 assists and had 12 digs.

CLASS 2B IN YAKIMA

Northwest Christian, playing in its first state tournament, lost its opening-round match to LaConner in four games.

The Navigators fell by game scores of 25-20, 26-25, 30-28 and 25-16.

Northwest Christian then bounced back to win its second match and beat Pomeroy, 3-0, winning 25-15, 26-24 and 26-24.

Northwest Christian will play Bear Creek at noon today. Bear Creek lost its first match to LaSalle in three games. Bear Creek then beat Liberty Bell, 3-0, to advance.

CLASS 1A IN YAKIMA

Montesano finished sixth after losing both of its matches Friday.

The Bulldogs were swept by Chelan in their semifinal match, 25-9, 25-11 and 25-19, to move into the third/sixth-place match.

Montesano won the opening game, 25-21, against Cascade of Leavenworth but dropped the final three games by scores of 25-23, 25-12 and 25-21.

The Olympian staff contributed to this report.

Meg Wochnick: 360-754-5473

mwochnick@theolympian.com

www.theolympian.com/prepsportsblog