Eagles finish eighth place in state tournament

YAKIMA - The St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse Eagles took eighth in the WIAA state 1B volleyball tournament.

The tournament took place in Yakima on Wednesday and Thursday, Nov. 8 and 9.

The Eagles had two games on Wednesday, followed by two more on Thursday.

The Eagles entered the tournament as the 10 seed in a bracket of 20 teams, and exceeded expectations, capturing an eighth place trophy in this year's tournament.

The first game for the Eagles was a game against the number seven seeded Waterville-Mansfield.

Set scores in the match saw the Eagles fall 3-1 on sets, winning only the third set: 20-25, 16-25, 25-23, 16-25.

In this game, Kaitlyn Hough had 18 kills on 55 attempts for the Eagles. Emery Molina also added 11 kills in the match.

Both Molina and Cami Larsen had two aces in the match, and five Eagles players recorded 13 or more digs, including 21 from Lyla Kjack.

After the loss, the Eagles went into a loser-out style bracket. The next loss for the Eagles would eliminate them from the tournament.

Later that day, Wednesday, Nov. 8, the Eagles had a match up with the 18th seeded Fellowship Christian Eagles.

In the battle of the Eagles, St. John came out victorious, winning the match in straight sets: 25-20, 25-19, 25-22.

This match saw Hough have 13 kills on 31 attempts for a hitting percentage of .290. Hough also had five aces and two blocks. Molina would also add 10 kills in the match.

Senior setter Julia Guske had 31 assists in the match.

The next game for the Eagles was played Thursday, Nov. 9, a loser-out game against the 11th ranked Entiat Tigers.

The match lasted four sets, with the Eagles besting the Tigers to advance to the seventh place match: 17-25, 25-17, 26-24, 25-15.

Once again, both Hough and Molina had double-digit kills for the Eagles. They both had 11 in the game. Kenzie Stanley would add nine kills, and Chloe Waddell had seven.

Guske had four aces and 35 assists in the match.

With the win, the Eagles advanced to the seventh/eighth place match.

Guaranteed a trophy, the Eagles accomplished what they came to state to do, but had work to do if they wanted to finish seventh. Eagles head coach Jenn Johnson led her team from a 10th place seed in the tournament to a chance for a seventh or eighth place trophy.

The match saw the Eagles take on the Liberty Christian Patriots, who knocked the Eagles out a chance for the district championship earlier in the season.

This time, the result was the same for the Eagles, who lost the match in four sets, winning only the third set: 26-28, 15-25, 25-22, 14-25.

Hough had 15 kills, three aces, two blocks, and 17 digs in her final high school game for the Eagles.

Guske ended her final Eagles volleyball game with two aces, eight digs, and 33 assists.

The Eagles walked away from the state tournament with an eight place trophy, and tears for the departing seniors, but their legacy at St. John high school will live on through their successes in the 2023 volleyball season.

"I'm excited for what the future of this program will bring," said Eagle coach Jenn Johnson.