MARYSVILLE – Megan McGinnis left nothing to chance.
With a picturesque approach, leap and spike, McGinnis launched the Snohomish High School volleyball team to the Class 4A state tournament for the fourth consecutive season. Her emphatic, high-flying kill finished off the Kamiak Knights as the Panthers swept a District One winner-to-state semifinal match 25-18, 25-16 and 25-23 Wednesday at Marysville-Pilchuck High School.
“It felt so good,” said McGinnis, a senior outside hitter. “I just wanted to kill it and end it.”
Daesha Henderson had a team-high 10 kills for Snohomish (15-1 overall), which also swept Edmonds-Woodway earlier in the day. The Panthers advanced to Saturday’s district championship, where they will play the winner of today’s semifinal back in the M-P gym.
Stephanie Lau (seven kills), Nicole Bozek (seven kills) and Elisabeth Smith (19 assists) paced Kamiak (11-5), which led 20-18 in Game 3 before Snohomish recovered to close out the victory.
Ashley Barnet (25 assists, six kills), Leotia Dahlseng (15 digs), Stephanie Heard (six kills) and Mac Stout (six kills) helped the Panthers achieve their goal of returning to the state tourney.
“It feels great,” McGinnis said. “It feels so good that we’ve accomplished it.”
Snohomish coach Shirley Siegel said her young team, which includes seven juniors and a sophomore, is peaking at the right time. “I’m really proud of the kids.”
The Panthers have reached the district title game the last two years and lost both times. They would like to grab the No. 1 seed Saturday to improve their position in the state tourney, which will be held Nov. 5-6 at the Everett Events Center. “That Saturday match has been a huge part of our long-term goal,” added Siegel, whose team lost to eventual champion Mead in the state quarterfinals last year.
Kamiak must now fight through the loser’s bracket for the district’s third and final state berth. The Knights, who played much better in Game 3, will play a loser-out game Saturday. They need two wins to advance.
“I think we have a great chance to get there,” Kamiak coach Debra Crawford said. “It’s starting to come together.”
Snohomish’s quick start was too much for the Knights to overcome, Crawford added. “They were picking us apart. They kept everything alive. They were just all over it tonight.”
Edmonds-Woodway (7-8) couldn’t solve Snohomish earlier in a first-round match. The Warriors hung in for two games but eventually unraveled, losing 25-20, 25-21, 25-3.
“We had a real opportunity tonight and we didn’t take advantage of it,” said E-W coach Mike Pittis, whose team will play Lake Stevens (9-6) in a loser-out game 11 a.m. Saturday. “We just didn’t recover very well.”
In that match, Barnet (22 assists), Heard (11 kills), Henderson (eight kills) and Whitney Nichols (four aces) propelled Snohomish. Erin Greenwood (12 kills) and Charlene Toma (11 assists) paced E-W.
Kamiak swept Lake Stevens, 25-17, 25-12, 25-19, in the other first-round match. Knights leaders included Lau (14 kills), Smith (36 assists) and Bozek (eight stuff blocks, six kills).
Today’s first-round matches at the M-P gym pit Jackson (8-6) against Oak Harbor (13-2) and Monroe (8-6) versus Everett (14-0).
3A District 1 playoffs: At Langley, Cedarcrest won 3-1 in its first match 26-24, 25-22, 18-25, 25-16 over Anacortes and then fell 3-0 to Shorecrest 25-20, 25-15, 25-23. Shorecrest (17-1 overall) defeated Bellingham 3-0 in an earlier match and will play in a winner-to-state match Saturday. Britney Carlson combined for 63 assists and 23 digs in the two matches for Cedarcrest (14-3), which plays in a loser-out match at 11 a.m Saturday.
Darrington 3, Orcas Island 2: At Orcas, Darrington (7-3 league, 14-3 overall) won the Northwest B match over Orcas Island (7-3, 14-3) 25-14, 25-23, 20-25, 19-25, 15-9 to earn a tie for the league title. Saori Yoshida had 16 digs and Lindsey Bryson added 27 assists for the Loggers, who will play Lopez next in a first round district match. Orcas Island defeated Darrington 15-8 in a one set tie-breaker, giving Orcas Island the league’s No. 1 seed and Darrington the No. 2 seed.
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