Published: Saturday, November 10, 2007
Murphy finishes fifth to earn first trophy
KENNEWICK -- It's time to hang a new banner in the Archbishop Murphy High School gym.
Fueled by a roster full of jump-serving, consistent players, the Archbishop Murphy volleyball team won the fifth-place trophy Friday during the Class 2A state volleyball championships at the Toyota Center.
After getting through a grueling three-match schedule Thursday, Murphy swept West Valley of Spokane in the fifth/eighth-place contest by game scores of 25-16, 25-14, 25-18. By winning the consolation-bracket final, Murphy earned the first top-eight trophy in program history.
First-year Murphy head coach Jim Hardy said it will be nice to finally display a volleyball banner in the Wildcats gym in Everett.
"They were very confident and loose and played very hard. I'm very proud of them," Hardy said of his squad, which compiled a record of 29-4 this season, including regular-season, postseason and invitational matches.
Unranked Murphy made it look easy against West Valley. The Wildcats used powerful jump serves and a balanced offensive attack en route to the historic victory. It came less than 24 hours after Murphy won back-to-back loser-out matches to advance to the tourney's final day.
Murphy's inspired, energetic play was impressive, Hardy said.
"This match (against West Valley) and the third match (Thursday against Colville) we played with a lot of energy. They dug deep and then carried it over" to Friday, said Hardy.
No one dug deeper than senior setter Patti Reeves, who Hardy said suffered from strep throat all week. It was unclear if Reeves would even play in the tourney. She battled illness and finished with a team-best 139 assists in four matches, including 23 assists in the trophy contest.
Murphy went 3-1 in the tourney. Its only loss was a three-games-to-two first-round defeat against Pullman. After making its state tourney debut last year and failing to place, Murphy was determined to do better this time, Reeves said.
"This year we wanted more. We didn't want us seniors to go out without a win," said Reeves, who tallied two aces, five digs and two blocks in the consolation final.
Shorecrest loses in 3A quarterfinals: After placing third last year, the best in program history, the Shorecrest Scots will finish no higher than fourth in 2007.
Shorecrest beat Timberline of Lacey Friday in its first-round 3A tourney match before losing to Hanford in the quarterfinals. Ninth-ranked Shorecrest was swept by No. 6 Hanford 25-13, 25-14, 25-18.
In its victory over Timberline, Shorecrest's leaders were Anna Herold (26 assists, 14 digs), Jamie McDonald (11 kills, five blocks) Kerry Clavadetscher (14 kills, 21 assists) and Gloria Tseng (10 kills, 15 digs).
Up next for Shorecrest is a loser-out consolation match 2 p.m. today against Camas.
1A/2B/1B meet: At Yakima, King's eliminated Goldendale in straight games, 25-23, 25-10, 25-13, in a 1A first-round match. King's faces Chelan at 10:30 a.m. in the quarterfinals at the SunDome. In 2B, the Darrington Loggers lost to Manson 25-16, 25-12, 25-16. The Loggers play a first-round consolation game at 9 a.m. against South Bend. After defeating Lake Quinault 25-20, 25-22, 25-22 in a first round 1B consolation game, North Sound Christian was eliminated by Sunnyside Christian 25-10, 25-19, 25-20.
Contact Herald Writer Mike Cane at mcane@heraldnet.com. For more high school sports news, check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.
Fueled by a roster full of jump-serving, consistent players, the Archbishop Murphy volleyball team won the fifth-place trophy Friday during the Class 2A state volleyball championships at the Toyota Center.
After getting through a grueling three-match schedule Thursday, Murphy swept West Valley of Spokane in the fifth/eighth-place contest by game scores of 25-16, 25-14, 25-18. By winning the consolation-bracket final, Murphy earned the first top-eight trophy in program history.
First-year Murphy head coach Jim Hardy said it will be nice to finally display a volleyball banner in the Wildcats gym in Everett.
"They were very confident and loose and played very hard. I'm very proud of them," Hardy said of his squad, which compiled a record of 29-4 this season, including regular-season, postseason and invitational matches.
Unranked Murphy made it look easy against West Valley. The Wildcats used powerful jump serves and a balanced offensive attack en route to the historic victory. It came less than 24 hours after Murphy won back-to-back loser-out matches to advance to the tourney's final day.
Murphy's inspired, energetic play was impressive, Hardy said.
"This match (against West Valley) and the third match (Thursday against Colville) we played with a lot of energy. They dug deep and then carried it over" to Friday, said Hardy.
No one dug deeper than senior setter Patti Reeves, who Hardy said suffered from strep throat all week. It was unclear if Reeves would even play in the tourney. She battled illness and finished with a team-best 139 assists in four matches, including 23 assists in the trophy contest.
Murphy went 3-1 in the tourney. Its only loss was a three-games-to-two first-round defeat against Pullman. After making its state tourney debut last year and failing to place, Murphy was determined to do better this time, Reeves said.
"This year we wanted more. We didn't want us seniors to go out without a win," said Reeves, who tallied two aces, five digs and two blocks in the consolation final.
Shorecrest loses in 3A quarterfinals: After placing third last year, the best in program history, the Shorecrest Scots will finish no higher than fourth in 2007.
Shorecrest beat Timberline of Lacey Friday in its first-round 3A tourney match before losing to Hanford in the quarterfinals. Ninth-ranked Shorecrest was swept by No. 6 Hanford 25-13, 25-14, 25-18.
In its victory over Timberline, Shorecrest's leaders were Anna Herold (26 assists, 14 digs), Jamie McDonald (11 kills, five blocks) Kerry Clavadetscher (14 kills, 21 assists) and Gloria Tseng (10 kills, 15 digs).
Up next for Shorecrest is a loser-out consolation match 2 p.m. today against Camas.
1A/2B/1B meet: At Yakima, King's eliminated Goldendale in straight games, 25-23, 25-10, 25-13, in a 1A first-round match. King's faces Chelan at 10:30 a.m. in the quarterfinals at the SunDome. In 2B, the Darrington Loggers lost to Manson 25-16, 25-12, 25-16. The Loggers play a first-round consolation game at 9 a.m. against South Bend. After defeating Lake Quinault 25-20, 25-22, 25-22 in a first round 1B consolation game, North Sound Christian was eliminated by Sunnyside Christian 25-10, 25-19, 25-20.
Contact Herald Writer Mike Cane at mcane@heraldnet.com. For more high school sports news, check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam.
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