State Championship Matches to Watch: Division 1A
The summit of the high school volleyball season in the state of Washington has arrived as starting on Thursday the best teams of the Evergreen State will battle each other at this year’s State Championship. The Yakima Valley SunDome once…
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Continue ReadingThe summit of the high school volleyball season in the state of Washington has arrived as starting on Thursday the best teams of the Evergreen State will battle each other at this year’s State Championship.
The Yakima Valley SunDome once again hosts the season-ending tournament. Divisions 1B and 2B were the first to start on Thursday and on Friday it will be time for teams of the 1A Class to start playing. The bracket will evolve as teams move forward during the day but here are three early matches you should follow in this division.
1A
Connell (14) vs Castle Rock (3) – 3.15pm
Undefeated the in the regular season with 18 wins in as many matches, Castle Rock enters this match as the favorite. The Rockets cruised past the 1A Trico district with eight wins and just three sets dropped. Among their key contributors are senior outside hitter Brooke Wirkkala, sophomore middle blocker Kynsi Bayes, junior setter Samantha Farland and junior libero Sunshine Watkins.
Connell wasn’t as productive over the season, winning eight and losing four matches. The Lady Eagles had a 3-1 win record to rank third in the 1A SCAC – East district but are currently on a good run of form after they won five straight. Senior outside hitter Corrigan Niel, junior outside hitter Hailey Stark and sophomore libero Isabella Holt are a big part of what the team does on the court.
King’s Way Christian (15) vs Chelan (2) – 3.15pm
Second-seeded Chelan continues to be a force to reckon at the division as the Mountain Goats ended the regular season with 14 wins and a single loss. Their seven wins handed the team the top spot at the 1A Caribou Trail District. Awarded as the league’s Player of the Year, junior outside hitter Olivia Strandberg is a top produced for Chelan, as are senior libero Morgyn Harrison and right sider Ally Williams.
The Knights from the King’s Way Christian High School out of Vancouver were third in the 1a Trico District with a campaign of three wins and five losses. The team holds a 9-7 win record for the season and will rely a lot on seniors Bridget Young (outside hitter) and Maddie Schrock (middle blocker) and sophomore Natalie O’Neil (setter) to potentially upset Chelan.
La Center (12) vs Zillah (5) – 5.15pm
These are two teams with solid regular seasons, especially the fifth-seeded Zillah Leopards, who won the 1A SCAC – West district with eight victories and secured a 13-1 campaign ahead of the State Championship. A lot of the team’s success should be credited to sophomore middle blocker Mia Hicks and seniors Brynn Widner (outside hitter) and Mayce Wofford (setter).
La Center built its team for 2021 around junior outside hitter Ella Schoene Ella Schoene 6'1" | OH La Center | 2023 State WA and senior opposite Amie Russell. The plan worked as the Wildcats were second in the 1A Trico District with a 6-2 campaign and won 18 and lost just eight matches the entire season. This is a very tall and athletic team, which has three players at or above six-foot in Schoene, junior middle blocker Alyse Webberley and freshman middle blocker Billie Ross.