Prep volleyball: Kennedy Croft leads Tumwater over defending 4A champion Curtis, again

Top performer: Kennedy Croft, Tumwater

20 kills, 17 digs, 5 aces – in 3-2 win against Curtis

Tumwater 3, Curtis 2: Down go the defending 4A state champions.

Gonzaga commit Kennedy Croft’s 20 kills, 17 digs and five aces helped beat Curtis for the second consecutive year in a nonleague match at Curtis, the reigning 4A state champion.

It was back and forth the whole way, with Tumwater winning 25-20, 18-15, 25-22, 18-25, 15-12.

Maddy Pilon had 38 assists, 17 digs and three blocks for Tumwater, and Cristina Hegerty had a team-high 21 digs.

Tumwater, which rebounded to place fifth in the 2A state tournament last year after losing to eventual champion Burlington-Edison, next faces Emerald Ridge on Thursday. ER reached the 4A state title before losing to Curtis last year.

Tahoma 3, Emerald Ridge 2: Emily Smith had 17 kills and Ginny Mehl added eight kills and three blocks as the Bears rallied to beat the Jaguars In a matchup of 4A NPSL and 4A SPSL powers.

Tahoma won the first set, but lost the next two before storming back for the 25-23, 23-25, 17-25, 25-12, 15-12 victory. Both teams placed in the 4A state tournament last year, with Tahoma taking eighth and Emerald Ridge second.

Taylor Templeman had 23 kills and 11 digs for the Jaguars and Jadyn Mullen had 40 assists and 21 digs.

Auburn Riverside 3, Puyallup 1: It all clicked for the Ravens after the second set as they cruised to the 25-18, 20-25, 25-14, 25-15 nonleague victory over the Vikings.

Calley Heilborn had 13 kills and 12 digs for Auburn Riverside, which placed third in the 3A state tournament last year. Ciera Zimmerman added 13 kills, 15 assists and two blocks and Lauren Smith had 15 assists and four aces. Clarice Buchanan had a team-high 17 digs.

Bonney Lake 3, Sumner 2: Alisha Fiest had 18 kills and 10 digs and Carly Gibbon had 15 kills and 18 digs as the Panthers won the final two sets to rally for the nonleague win against Sumner.

Bonney Lake trailed 2-1 before riding an explosive fourth set to win 18-25, 25-21, 22-25, 25-12, 15-12.

Ashlyn Tyler had 15 digs and thee kills.

Olivia Alexander had 12 kills for Sumner and Georgia Hinds had 30 assists and five aces.

White River 3, Enumclaw 0: The Hornets of White River cruised behind Kendal Bird’s 13 kills and Keegan Strobeck and Megan Vandegrift’s 14 digs each against the Hornets of Enumclaw in a nonleague victory.

Hope Baldyga had 27 assists as White River won 25-14, 25-20, 25-17.

Lauren Hanson had 14 digs for Enumclaw and Emily Miller added 15 assists.

Foss 3, Mount Tahoma 2: Angela Stanback led the Falcons with six assists, three kills and three blocks and Khalia Crag had 13 kills and a block as Foss won the final two sets to beat former 3A Narrows rival Mount Tahoma in a nonleague match.

Foss won 18-25, 25-21, 16-25, 25-18, 15-7.

Mount Tahoma’s Zyonna Fellows was 15-for-15 serving with five blocks and Evanel Fola was 16-for-17 serving with nine aces and 20 assists.

Charles Wright 3, University Prep 0: Alli Knowles had 10 aces and 23 assists as the Tarriers cruised to the nonleague win in three sets, 25-16, 25-9, 25-17.

Abbie Jackson added six kills and six aces for Charles Wright and Natalya Braxton had seven kills.

Fife 3, Olympic 0: Annika Linen had 24 assists and Madison Licari had nine kills, six aces and six digs to lift the Trojans to the three-set, nonleague victory.

Fife won 25-22, 25-21, 25-19.

This story was originally published September 7, 2016 at 10:04 AM with the headline "Prep volleyball: Kennedy Croft leads Tumwater over defending 4A champion Curtis, again."