Nighthawks are 1B District 6 champions

ROSALIA - On Thursday, Nov. 7, the Oakesdale Nighthawks continued their dominating run this season and emerged from the 1B District 6 volleyball tournament as champions.

It's amazing, it feels really good," said Oakesdale coach McKinzie Turner."This is a really fun team to coach. Our girls just outworked and worked so hard tonight and I think that's a big part of our success and we have to keep that focus."

In the semifinals, the Nighthawks defeated the Valley Christian Panthers, 3-0, and beat the Wilbur-Creston-Keller Wildcats, 3-1, in the championship match.

Set scores for the match against Valley Christian were 25-12, 25-11, 25-10. Oakesdale dominated the entire first set with aces scored by sophomore Grace Perry and eighth grader Parker Davis. Nighthawks kills were made by Perry, junior Bradyn Henley and freshman Lyla Kjack, with assists by freshman setter Megan Crider.

With Oakesdale leading 19-12, the Nighthawks rattled off the next six points in a row, with Kjack serving two aces.

The Nighthawks continued to control the court in set two with block kills by Henley, aces by Crider, Kjack and freshman Addy Lisenbee. A kill by Davis, assisted by Crider ended the set.

Set three began with Oakesdale taking a 9-2 lead and the Nighthawks never let up. A kill by Henley and an ace by Crider ended the match in favor of the Nighthawks.

Crider, Kjack, Davis and Perry each had three aces in the match. Crider led the Nighthawks with 18 assists and Henley added 10 kills. Henley and freshman Autumn Roper each had two blocks in the match. Kjack, Henley and Davis each had five digs.

In the championship match against the Wildcats, Oakesdale dropped the first set, but won the following three to win the District 6 trophy. Set scores were 23-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-20.

"I think it's important for us to get extra reps playing high-quality teams like Wilbur-Creston," Turner said. "They have a really great program as well and any time you have an opportunity to play someone with such a high-quality program, is a great volleyball team, and great humans as well, that's an opportunity you want to take advantage of."

The first set began with a front-line block kill by the Wildcats. The teams battled back and forth until the score was tied, 7-7.

The Wildcats kept managing to get kills and blocks, but the Nighthawks stayed in the match. Down 23-18, Oakesdale gained the next four points on block kills by Henley and Crider and an ace by Perry. The Wildcats then got two kills in a row and took set one.

In set two the Wildcats returned to form. The set started with a pair of aces by Davis before the Wildcats could gain a point. A block kill by Perry and kills by Henley held the Nighthawks build a 13-4 lead.

The Wildcats clawed their way back, shortening the gap but the Nighthawks pressed on until the score was 24-14 for Oakesdale. The Wildcats scored the next four points but a block kill by Henley ended the set and the match was tied, 1-1.

Set three began with each team trading kills and neither team gaining more than a three-point advantage until it was tied 8-8. The Wildcats gained the momentum and scored the next five points before taking a 17-12 lead. The Nighthawks gained five straight points themselves and tied the score at 17-17.

With the score tied again at 21-21, Oakesdale gained the advantage with a kill by Kjack and an ace by Davis. The Wildcats quickly responded and tied the set again at 23-23.

The Wildcats hit the ball out of bounds to give the Nighthawks the set point. An ace by Perry finished the set and Oakesdale was now in the driver's seat.

The Nighthawks slowly built a lead in set four, but the Wildcats were relentless and came back to tie the score at 14-14. An ace by Perry and three kills by Henley gave Oakesdale a commanding lead.

With the score at 24-17 and the championship match point in hand, the Wildcats scored the next three points on a block kill and two aces. Coach Turner called a timeout after the second ace.

"The game of volleyball is a game of momentum and when you can change the speed of things, sometimes that can be to your benefit," Turner said.

The Nighthawks scored the final point and became District 6 champions.

Davis led the Nighthawks with four aces, Crider led with 35 assists and 13 digs, and Henley notched 18 kills and three blocks.

The Nighthawks entered the State tournament as the No. 1 seed. They played the winner of No. 16 Liberty Christian and No. 17 Grace Academy at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 13, after press time, at the Yakima Valley Sundome.

"There's some parts of our game we're going to tweak and crispen up, but I feel this team is peaking at the right time," Turner said. "You want to peak at the end and we've come a long way this season.