EVERETT – With the Everett Seagulls making their first trip to the state volleyball tournament since 1973, it was cause for a little nostalgia.
Tournament director and Everett High School athletic director Jo Metzger-Levin was on the 1973 team that finished second in the Class 3A state tournament. Merrilie Howard, a member of Metzger-Levin’s tournament staff, was the head coach of that state team over two decades ago.
“I am ecstatic to see Everett having success again,” said Howard, who retired as Everett’s coach in 1994. “I had to hold myself back from going down there during the game and screaming my head off.”
Howard was also glad to see so many fans in the Seagulls’ rooting section. Estimates put the Everett fan base at around 800 people for the Seagulls’ first game against University.
“I was impressed by the student body turnout,” Howard said. “(In 1973) We used to have big crowds at matches. Back then, students weren’t allowed to leave school to go to the state tournament, but they just left anyway.”
Sweet revenge: Had there been three spots awarded to Wesco last season, instead of just two, Everett would have made its state appearance a lot sooner. Instead, Snohomish beat the Seagulls for the last state berth in 2003 and Everett has used that as motivation all season.
“They (Snohomish) knocked us out of the playoffs last year and it feels so good to be the ones still standing,” said Everett’s Jennifer Luatua.
The Panthers met with hard times Friday at the Class 4A tournament, losing both games and exiting from the tournament. Everett managed to win their consolation game and will play Kentwood in a loser-out game at 9 a.m. today.
“I have some sympathy for them,” the Seagulls Kelsey Larsen. “We’ve been carrying a grudge against them since last year. We really worked hard this season and we came out in districts and beat them.”
Great game? Kentwood dominated Jackson from start to end. Standout senior Sarah Conwell did most of the damage on her own. In fact, the 5-foot-10 senior contributed more than a dozen kills and added five stuff blocks. The impressive victory, however, wasn’t as impressive to Kentwood coach Bill Caillier. “He actually yelled at us,” Conwell said.
Herald Writer Chris Trujillo contributed to this notebook
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