District 8 Playoff Preview: 3A

The Greater Spokane league will send two of the top teams in the state to the District 8 tournament against the Mid Columbia Conference. Mt Spokane and Mead faced off for the Greater Spokane League championship Thursday in the Annual "Catfight" rivalry game. Mt Spokane defeated Mead at home in four sets to take home the championship and finish the league season undefeated. Mead ended with an 8-1 record and will be one of five teams from the GSL facing off against the three squads from the MCC with just two state tournament berths available. Mt Spokane and Mead will be heavily favored, sitting at #1 and #4 in the latest WIAA RPI rankings. All four first-round matches are loser-out affairs, with the MCC teams having the top seeding positions by default after the GSL received the top seeding position last season.   1 Seed. Walla Walla- MCC #1   The Blue Devils are playing some of their best volleyball at the end of the season, and are hoping to ride the wave through to the state tournament. Senior Sidney McCauley has been leading the way, posting a huge 14-kill, 25-dig double-double against Kennewick to end league play. Jailyn Davenport is a talented sophomore setter/right-side to keep an eye on. She is 5'10 and has well-refined overall skills. This Walla Walla team is skilled and athletic and makes up for a lack of size with hustle and smart play.   2 Seed. Mt. Spokane- GSL #1   [player_tooltip player_id='97271' first='Leilani' last='Ama'] should be the MVP of the Greater Spokane League. The setter is fully healthy this year and controls a match from beginning to end. Chaminade has a great player in the fold for next year. [player_tooltip player_id='97270' first='Maggie' last='Degenhart'] has posted big kill numbers all season long, and the rest of the team has pulled together around these two stars. A long tradition of state trophies and postseason excellence should have the Wildcats back in District 8 championship game.   3 Seed. Kennewick- MCC #2   Finishing with a 6-10 record overall in the league, the Lions were edged twice in five games by Walla Walla in the season series. Kennewick is a very young team, but senior setter Janie Buckingham is dynamic and has great feet. She holds the offense together for the Lions. Middle Emily Kaylor is athletic and can go get a slide, pounding the ball cross-court when she is at her best. Cali Schoenberg is a sophomore outside who has learned to score as the season has progressed. Kennewick will face a tough Ridgeline team in the first round in what should be a terrific battle.   4 Seed. Mead- GSL #2   The defending 3A state champs have had to fight hard this year, bringing in an entirely new back row and replacing Madi Zorn at setter who moved on to Division 1 after her senior season. [player_tooltip player_id='97273' first='Cassie' last='Moeller'] and Danikah Johnson have led the way offensively in their senior campaigns, both are all-state-level players with experience. In system, Mead is deadly with Moeller and Johnson attacking quickly with setter Brielle Wilson running the offense. Staying in system is critical for the Panthers in the postseason   5 Seed. Hermiston- MCC #3   Senior setter Ayden Hagel is athletic and has good fundamentals when running the offense. She can put the Bulldogs on her back from the service line she has rattled off long scoring runs this season. Sophomore libero Camryn Hagel is one to watch, she has a solid passing platform and will go and get a ball to make the spectacular save. Isabella Simmons is another sophomore playing well for the Bulldogs, she is tough as a server and makes the right play defensively, and attacking from the outside.   6 Seed. Ridgeline- GSL #3   The Falcons will have to get past Kennewick, then pull an upset against one of the top seeds to grab a state tournament spot. [player_tooltip player_id='97282' first='Corrine' last='Westby'] at MB gets the offense rolling, she will hammer a ball around the block left and right and can be counted on for big blocks and solid all-around play in all phases. The Falcons can be really difficult to play when Julianne Hemphill is in the flow at outside hitter. Undersized with a big vertical, she can get hot and give the team a one-two punch with Westby. Junior libero Makayla Hickman runs the back row and is an all-league-level player.   Cheney and Ferris from the GSL make up the final two seeds, and both teams have pushed their opponents hard this season. Both squads will be hard-pressed to pull upsets in the first round, but Cheney may be able to match up with the scrappy Walla Walla squad, as Cheney also plays hard on defense and makes relatively few mistakes. The trip to Walla Walla is tough for any Spokane area team to make, however, and with the #1 seed, the Blue Devils will get home court throughout the tournament. Either Mead or Mt. Spokane, and perhaps both will have to go through Walla Walla for a state berth.

The Greater Spokane league will send two of the top teams in the state to the District 8 tournament against the Mid Columbia Conference. Mt Spokane and Mead faced off for the Greater Spokane League championship Thursday in the Annual "Catfight" rivalry game. Mt Spokane defeated Mead at home in four sets to take home the championship and finish the league season undefeated. Mead ended with an 8-1 record and will be one of five teams from the GSL facing off against the three squads from the MCC with just two state tournament berths available. Mt Spokane and Mead will be heavily favored, sitting at #1 and #4 in the latest WIAA RPI rankings. All four first-round matches are loser-out affairs, with the MCC teams having the top seeding positions by default after the GSL received the top seeding position last season.