YAKIMA — King’s gave eventual champion Colfax its toughest test, but in the end the Knights came home with a third-place trophy.
King’s matched its best finish at a state volleyball tournament by beating Chewelah 25-17, 9-25, 25-11, 25-23 for third in the Class 1A tournament Nov. 11 at the Yakima SunDome.
The second-ranked Knights (20-1) rebounded from their first defeat of the season, a 25-21, 25-27, 25-13, 26-24 loss to Colfax in the semifinals.
“The kids, they bounced back,” King’s coach Steve Bain said. “It’s real easy after a disappointing loss to give up.”
King’s was the only team to take a game off Colfax during its run to its eighth state title.
“That game we played felt like we were playing for first place,” senior co-captain and outside hitter Kimberly Mayhle said.
The Knights’ outside hitter tandem of juniors Kailey Trautmann and Bianca Rowland spelled double trouble for the Bulldogs when King’s was able to set them up. Rowland had 18 kills against Colfax and Trautmann added 16. They combined for 13 kills in taking game two. In the 12-point loss in game three, Rowland sat out for much of it with a strained right shoulder and Trautmann only had two kills.
In game four, King’s staved off two match points before succumbing to the Bulldogs who won their third consecutive state 1A title by sweeping Northeast League rival Lakeside (Nine Mile Falls) that evening.
“They were a good hitting team,” Colfax outside hitter Sadie Lazzarini said of King’s. “They gave us good competition.”
Anna Cesari dished out 32 assists, Mayhle had 16 digs and Andrea Uvence had 12 digs.
Against Chewelah, the Knights came out and dominated the first game but lost momentum and simply disappeared in an error-filled second game. The Knights got back on track and led the entire way in game three and never trailed after taking a 5-4 lead in game four.
Trautmann pounded down 21 kills and Rowland had 14 against Chewelah and Cesari dished out 38 assists.
Trautmann had an impressive tournament with 58 kills, 45 digs, eight aces and an overall hitting percentage of .505.
“Our serving and defense was unreal this whole tournament,” Trautmann said. “We were able to put it down.”
Mayhle anchored the defense during the tournament from her outside hitter position.
“She played great defense,” Bain said. “She just fought and battled.”
The Knights swept LaCenter 25-8, 25-13, 25-9 in the first round and did likewise to Castle Rock, 25-19, 25-19, 25-19 in the quarterfinals.
“I think it showed us this year that every match really is important, each game. We can’t take anything for granted at any point in the tournament,” Trautmann said.
King’s came into the season with a young team, after graduating eight seniors including outside hitter Sara Mosiman, the 2A Most Valuable Player, and libero Jamie Hartman.
King’s finished third in 2004 and fourth in 2005 in the Class 2A state tournament.
“We’re all very happy with the place we came away with,” Mayhle said.
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