S.J.E. volleyball falls to Tekoa/Oakesdale

In a likely preview of battles to be fought in Clarkston for the District Nine 1B district volleyball tournament, the St. John-Endicott team lost in five to Tekoa-Oakesdale Tuesday night.

Playing at St. John, the Eagles went down in a fight, 25-22, 25-21, 22-25, 21-25, 15-12.

"This was a barn-burner," said S.J.E. coach Megan Doering. The match completed the regular season schedule for both teams, with S.J.E. finishing 16-10 overall and 4-3 in league, with losses to Colton, Pomeroy and T.O.

They now advance to districts as the No. 4 seed, to open the tournament Wednesday night in Clarkston against the winner of the No. 5 vs. No. 8 game.

The double-elimination tournament continues on Saturday, Nov. 9. with the championship game Saturday afternoon. The top two advance to the state tournament in Yakima.

"I think it’s going to be quite a dogfight to get out of our districts," said Doering.

Against Tekoa-Oakesdale on Tuesday, Emily Jones led S.J.E. with 17 digs and 12 kills while Morgan Anderson added 23 assists, Abby Glorfield had 15 digs and Gracie Dickerson 12 digs.

For the Nighthawks, Maddie Jo Johnson delivered 15 kills and 11 aces while Cassandra Mendoza had 17 kills and Alexa Lindgren posted 27 assists.

Tekoa-Oakesdale completed an undefeated season in league, while sustaining just one non-league loss, to Colfax.

They are the two-time defending state champions.