YAKIMA — The Archbishop Murphy volleyball team’s first trip to state ended a win shy of the trophy round on Nov. 11, but the Wildcats declared it a successful season nonetheless.
Lynden, a team Archbishop Murphy beat in five games in the District 1 semifinals, knocked the Wildcats out of the state 2A tournament 25-18, 25-22, 25-27, 25-21 in the consolation bracket at the Yakima SunDome.
The Lions nearly swept the Wildcats, but Archbishop Murphy fought off three match points in game three and forced game four after a kill by junior outside hitter Megan Robinson.
Archbishop Murphy took a 7-1 lead in game four but the Lions roared back and ended the deciding game on an 8-2 run.
“We played our hearts out,” senior middle hitter Kaitlin Hoban said. “There’s nothing to feel bad about. We left it all on the court.”
Lynden’s Jessi Roberts, a junior middle hitter, delivered 24 kills to help lead the Lions to victory. Senior libero Allie Gotz led the Wildcats with 23 digs, sophomore outside hitter Alyssa Smith added 10 kills and junior setter Patti Reeves dished out 21 assists and had 13 digs.
Archbishop Murphy lost its opening round match to Tumwater 25-19, 22-25, 25-28, 25-21, but bounced back to beat Eatonville, 16-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-20 for its first-ever state tournament win.
Robinson led the Wildcats with 11 kills against Tumwater while Gotz had 24 digs and Kayelynne Huggins added 12 digs. Against Eatonville, Robinson had nine kills and Rachel Shober had six kills and four stuff blocks. Setter Patti Reeves dished out 24 assists and Gotz contributed 16 digs.
The Wildcats, whose game strategy relies heavily on jump serving, said they were hampered by the smaller out-of-bounds areas at the SunDome. They felt they needed more space to effectively run up to the service line.
“It took us longer than usual to adjust to that,” said Gotz, a co-captain.
Still, in the last four years, under coach Mike Bettinghouse, the Wildcats have gradually improved. This year’s seniors went from not even qualifying for the district tournament to meeting their goal of a state berth this season.
“We accomplished that,” Gotz said of qualifying for state with the district win over Lynden. “I’m so proud of our girls.”
Bettinghouse, a Reno, Nev. resident who hasn’t decided if he will return next season, said the program took a big step forward this season.
“From here on out our expectations are to be here every year,” he said.
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