MILL CREEK
The Shorecrest volleyball team is one win away from a return trip to the state tournament in Kennewick.
The Scots, who placed third at state last year, looked sharp in wins over Lynnwood and Ferndale in the 3A District 1 tournament Oct. 27 at Jackson High School.
The Scots, the No. 1 seed from Wesco, earned a berth in the district final against Mount Vernon, the No. 1 seed from the Northwest League, at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3 at Jackson.
“We want to be the first seed (to state),” Shorecrest senior outside hitter Tori Olsen said. “We’re very excited to win these first games.”
Shorecrest swept Lynnwood 25-12, 25-14, 25-13 in the opening round and then beat Ferndale 25-21, 25-16, 25-9.
The Scots became more dominant as the Ferndale match wore on.
“This past game is one of our best games all season,” said senior co-captain and setter Anna Herold.
The first game of the match was tight, with Ferndale holding a slight edge until Shorecrest tied it at 19 on a kill by middle hitter Jamie McDonald.
The Scots snagged a 21-20 lead and then Olsen pounded home four kills to win the game.
“They didn’t protect their line very well, they were giving us quite a bit of line to hit. We hit line pretty well,” Shorecrest coach Dave Morehouse said.
“We pretty much exploited that until they did something different and they never really did make that change at least in the first game or the third game,” he said. “Sometimes it’s a matter of taking what the defense gives you. The third game they gave us a lot of tip. Jamie, the middle, took a lot of those tips.”
After battling back in the first game, Shorecrest never trailed in games two and three.
Morehouse said teams like Ferndale tend to gear up emotionally against a No. 1 seed like Shorecrest in the tournament, and play hard in the first game.
“We kind of weathered the storm a little bit emotionally so we had to do that a little bit in the first match and second match, the first game, so we did it but we could also do better ourselves,” Morehouse said. “Take care of the ball a little bit better, we can maintain control a little bit better. But yeah, the job got done.”
Last year Shorecrest went undefeated until the district final against Everett. They came back to get the district’s second state seed before making a deep run in Kennewick.
Shorecrest entered the season with a No. 2 state ranking in the coaches’ poll behind defending 3A champion Bishop Blanchet but a couple early losses to Kamiak and Edmonds-Woodway knocked them out of the rankings.
Injuries played a role in that, but the Scots seem to be clicking on all cylinders now.
Kerry Clavadetscher, who missed part of the season with a torn ligament in one of her fingers, was one of several Scots who missed time this season.
“We definitely had a lot of injuries,” Clavadetscher said. “It kind of messed with the chemistry.”
Middle hitter Gabi Leif has been with a back injury but could be back for the district final.
The Shorecrest players said they don’t know anything about their district final opponent Mount Vernon, but they are hungry for a return trip to state to see if they can improve on last year’s finish.
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