Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Defending champs top Eagles, Patriots in districts
Nighthawks players and coaches pose after a victory against the St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse Eagles Nov. 3 in Oakesdale.
Addisen Becker, left, and Kenzie Stanley go for a block on a kill attempt against the Oakesdale Nighthawks.
OAKESDALE - The defending 1B girls volleyball state champion Nighthawks spiked a familiar opponent Thursday night, Nov. 3, downing league rival St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse in three sets.
Set scores were 25-10, 25-8 and 25-7.
"Tonight, they played really, really good volleyball. It was fun to watch them," Coach McKinzie Turner said of her team. "They were just playing their Nighthawk volleyball. They were aggressive defensively; they were aggressive offensively.
"It was just fun to watch them."
The win moves the state 1B top-ranked, undefeated Nighthawks (17-0) one step closer to a repeat state title.
"We punched our ticket to the state tournament," Turner said. "We're going to the SunDome."
The team of four seniors, three juniors, two sophomores and a freshman had to first get through the district title game Saturday, Nov. 5, at DeSales High School in Walla Walla.
The No. 1-seeded Nighthawks played Liberty Christian after the Patriots beat Pomeroy.
Oakesdale ended up earning the No. 1 seed in a 3-0 win against Liberty Christian on Nov. 5.
Meanwhile, the Eagles fell to the consolation rounds and had to win two games Saturday to make it into the state tournament.
The St. John-Endicott girls played Colton first, winning in three sets before going on to face Pomeroy in the consolation bracket final.
St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse lost 3-2 in a hard-fought match against the Pomeroy Pirates on Nov. 5 in Walla Walla, ending the Eagles' season.
Looking back on the game in Oakesdale, Coach Turner said her team is just coming together.
"This is what we've been working toward all season," she said. "It's been a journey this year and it's been fun to watch."
According to Turner, her team had a game plan for St. John-Endicott and executed it well.
"We worked on trying to hit certain spots or trying to close our block," she said. "We tried to elevate our game. If you take care of the little things, the big things will come together.
Turner said all of the Nighthawks on the court deserved recognition for the semifinal win.
"We had amazing setting from Samantha (Holling) and Payton (Davis) tonight," she said. "We had amazing hitting from all six of our hitters. Brieyn Henley had some amazing hits; Jessie Reed same thing.
"Marilla (Hockett) had that amazing kill and a couple really good blocks. Payton Davis had one to the outside ... and she just crushed it.
"Gianna Anderson is just constant. She just crushed a couple of balls tonight."
She led the team with 12 kills in the game.
The coach said she could not say enough about how well the girls played in front of the home crowd.
Holling had 13 assists and Reed had 8 digs and 6 aces. Davis and Hocket each had 1 block.
Individual stats for the Eagles were not immediately available.
She also played down any pressure to repeat the state title.
"Obviously, there's some pressure to bring the trophy back home," she said. "But at the same time, they are so cool, calm and collected. They trust themselves; they trust each other."
Turner said her players don't let each other down.
"They just have this confident in themselves and their abilities," she said, noting she had a fun practice planned that took place Friday for them to help keep the stress level at a minimum.
"We're going to do a fun practice," she said. "We're doing an ugly Christmas sweater practice just to have fun."
The Top 3 teams in the district advance to the state tournament in the Yakima Valley SunDome on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 10-11.
The SunDome will also host the girls 2B and 1A state championships, where the Colfax Bulldogs will also play.
Roger Harnack is the owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. Having grown up Benton City, Roger is an award-winning journalist, photographer, editor and publisher. He's one of only two editorial/commentary writers from Washington state to ever receive the international Golden Quill. Roger is dedicated to the preservation of local media, and the voice it retains for Eastern Washington.
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