Prep volleyball: Darrington falls to No. 1-ranked La Conner
Published 11:13 pm Tuesday, October 7, 2008
LA CONNER — It was the reigning 2B state champion against the fifth-place finisher Tuesday night at La Conner High School and the state champs wound up on top again.
The La Conner Braves defeated Darrington 25-9, 25-18, 25-22 in the Northwest 1A/2B volleyball match, giving the Loggers (5-1 league, 5-2 overall) their first conference loss of the year.
“They’re a very fundamentally sound team,” Darrington head coach Greg Powell said. “They play the game quickly and it took us awhile to catch up to speed.”
La Conner (6-0, 7-0), ranked No. 1 in the 2B Washington state coaches poll, jumped on Darrington early.
Powell accredited the rough start to being “a young and inexperienced team.”
Mandy Powell led the Loggers, who are ranked fifth in the coaches poll, with five kills and 21 digs. Hailey Wales added four blocks and her twin sister Randi Wales was 11-for-11 serving with two aces.
Powell also praised the work of newcomers Kolby Fanning and Madi Hatfield, two new setters on the Darrington team.
“They did an exceptional job,” Powell said.
“It’s been a few years since (Darrington) beat La Conner,” the Darrington coach said. Moments later he was pointing to the rematch in Darrington on October 30th as a chance for a little revenge.
“Absolutely,” Powell responded when asked if he was excited for the second game against the conference foe. “We’re looking forward to the next game.”
Shoreline Christian 3, Orcas Island 0: At Eastsound, Shoreline Christian connected on 24 aces, including nine by Laura Kredit and seven by Anne Marie Visser, to post the 26-24, 25-17, 25-13 Northwest 1A/2B victory. Angie DeKoekkoek provided 12 kills for Shoreline Christian, which improved to 5-2 in league, 6-3 overall. Orcas Island is now 2-3, 2-3.
Monroe 3, Cascade 0: At Monroe, Kylin Munoz led Monroe with 14 kills and 14 digs and the Bearcats swept Cascade 25-20, 25-12, 25-18 in the Wesco North match. Kaitlyn Drew added 23 assists and Meagan McPhetridge finished with 23 seven kills and eight aces for the Bearcats (1-0 in league, 6-1 overall). Kaitie Brush led the Bruins (0-1, 2-5) with five blocks.
Everett 3, Stanwood 1: At Everett, Jody Barhanovich had 21 digs, Ally Lund had 11 digs and seven kills, Emily Liger had 13 kills and Mollie Postma had 30 assists as the Seagulls (1-0 league, 5-2 overall) defeated Stanwood 25-23, 25-17, 24-26, 25-7 in the Wesco North opener for both squads. Leah Titus had 14 digs to lead Stanwood (0-1, 5-2)
Marysville-Pilchuck 3, Arlington 1: At Marysville, Jenna Welsh, Mikayla Larosa and Emily Boerger combined for 40 kills and Jadelyn Thompson added 26 digs in the 25-13, 29-27, 16-25, 25-14 Wesco North victory. Laurence Decroise had 17 kills and six digs for Arlington and Kenzie Jorgenson and Bre Covey amassed a combined 20 kills. The Tomahawks are now 1-0 in league, 4-3 overall. Arlington fell to 0-1, 3-4.
Lake Stevens 3, Oak Harbor 1: At Lake Stevens, Ashley Kelly-Norling had nine kills and Kourtney Van Santen added seven kills as the Vikings (1-0 league, 3-4 overall) rebounded from a first-set loss to defeat the Wildcats 15-25, 27-25, 27-25, 25-19 in the Wesco North opener for both squads. Melany Cone had 33 assists and Jessica Muzzall had 16 kills to lead Oak Harbor (0-1, 2-5).
Granite Falls 3, Sultan 0: At Sultan, Granite Falls defeated Sultan in straight games, winning 25-19, 25-20, 25-15. Ericka Smith had nine kills and Brennan Johnson had 14 digs for Granite Falls in the Cascade Conference contest.
Cedarcrest 3, Lakewood 2: At Marysville, Shannon Bailey connected on 18 kills and four aces, leading the charge for Cedarcrest in the seesaw battle. Cedarcrest edged Lakewood 25-21, 26-28, 21-25, 25-21, 15-11. Lindsey Smith had 36 assists and 11 digs, and the tandem of Crystal Canady and Sara Houser provided 38 digs and nine kills in the Cascade Conference match. Cedarcrest is now 5-2 in league and 6-2 overall. Amanda Gregory had 15 kills, Liliya Kibitskaya had 10 kills and 21 digs, Peyton Mizell had 24 assists and Sarah Boe had 17 digs for Lakewood (2-5, 2-5).
South Whidbey 3, Coupeville 2: At Langley, Coupeville won the first set 25-20 and an almost neverending fourth set 32-30, but were unable to hold off South Whidbey, as the Falcons won the deciding set 15-10 to take the Cascade Conference victory and improved to 4-3 in league play and 4-3 overall. Katie Holt had 15 blocks and seven kills to go along with Kelsey Dorpat’s 24 assists and nine digs. Linde Matetens had 26 digs and 21 punishing kills for Coupeville, dropping it to 1-6 in league and 2-6 overall.
Highland Christian 3, Grace Academy 0: At Marysville, Chelsey Graber had 22 kills, Aly Hodges added 17 assists and Sierra Diemer added eight aces as Highland Christian (2-0 in league, 4-4 overall) swept Grace Academy (0-3, 0-5) 25-21, 25-18, 25-15 in a Northwest 1B League match.
North Sound Christian 3, Lummi 1: At Bellingham, Tory Speck helped North Sound Christian to a 25-17, 25-14, 15-25, 25-15 Northwest 1B League victory with four kills, four aces, seven digs and two blocks. Teammates Chantelle Meeks and Malorie Mahler combined for 12 kills, five aces, and four digs for North Sound, which enhanced its record to 6-3 overall. Lummi fell to 2-3 overall.
