Week 1 Competition and Players to Watch!
The High School season in Washington starts fully this week, and there are already tremendous matchups to look forward to across the state. The best battle this week may be the Puyallup vs. Curtis match in 4A, both Viking squads…
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Continue ReadingThe High School season in Washington starts fully this week, and there are already tremendous matchups to look forward to across the state. The best battle this week may be the Puyallup vs. Curtis match in 4A, both Viking squads have high hopes for state hardware and feature big-time players like Danielle Brown Danielle Brown 6'3" | MB Puyallup | 2024 State #154 Nation WA , Hannah Byers Hannah Byers 6'2" | OH Olympia | 2024 State #151 Nation WA , Reese Sheppard Reese Sheppard 5'9" | S Puyallup | 2025 State WA , Susannah Barnett Susannah Barnett 5'4" | DS/L Olympia | 2024 State WA , Rylie Hangca Rylie Hangca 5'7" | RS Puyallup | 2024 State WA , and more.
This November the WIAA will put on two three-day championships in the Yakima SunDome, with some classifications overlapping. November 10-11 (1B, 2B), November 11-12 (1A), November 17-18 (3A), and November 18-19 (2A, 4A). There were start times at 7AM to make sure all the games were completed last season at State, hopefully that can be avoided for everyone involved this year. The season runs roughly 10 weeks, teams need to mesh quickly in the non-league and tournament portion of the schedule in early and mid September, then begin to rack up wins to lock up a playoff berth headed into late October and November.
Early season tournaments to keep an eye on include the SunDome Volleyball Festival this upcoming weekend, a 64-team affair split into two divisions. Last year both tournament winners also took home state Championships; Oakesdale in one division and Chelan in the other. Both of these teams have an excellent chance to repeat at state this year, the Nighthawks are led by senior Payton Davis Payton Davis 5'10" | OH Oakesdale | 2024 State WA and Chelan has a young gun with a huge game in sophomore Brynn Hughbanks Brynn Hughbanks 5'9" | OH Chelan | 2026 State WA . Tournament favorites this weekend in Yakima include Wenatchee, Bothell, Lynden, Eastlake, Gig Harbor, and Kamiakin among others. A few players to watch at the SunDome include Sasha Dandridge Sasha Dandridge 5'10" | OH Wenatchee | 2024 State WA , Jessica Martin Jessica Martin 5'6" | DS/L Eastlake | 2024 State WA , Grace Rice Grace Rice 5'8" | S Lynden | 2024 State WA , and Peyton Arland Peyton Arland 5'11" | OH Kamiakin | 2024 State WA . The Bellevue Volleyball Invitational is also the 9th and features host Bellevue, Ingraham, North Creek, Garfield, and Skyline along with Lakeside (SEA) and Lake Stevens. The Lions from Lakeside are the defending 3A champs and Lake Stevens is a top contender for the 4A title. The talent level at the tournament will be deep with players like Victoria Gao Victoria Gao 5'6" | DS/L Lakeside | 2025 State WA , Laura Eichert Laura Eichert 6'0" | OH Lake Stevens | 2026 State WA , Katelyn Eichert Katelyn Eichert 5'8" | S Lake Stevens | 2024 State WA , Simone Grieser Simone Grieser 5'11" | RS North Creek | 2024 State WA , Alyss Kelly Alyss Kelly 5'5" | DS/L Lake Stevens | 2024 State #159 Nation WA , and more all in action.
Two Eastern Washington matchups of note tonight include Mt. Spokane at Gonzaga Prep and in 2A, Shadle Park takes on Colfax. Mt Spokane is a league title and state contender out of the 3A Greater Spokane League along with Mead and newcomer Ridgeline. Shadle Park and Colfax have both made waves at the State 2A Tournament over the last few seasons to continue to add to their long traditions of excellence. Players to watch include Abbey Flerchinger Abbey Flerchinger 5'11" | MB Shadle Park | 2024 State WA , Shadle Park, Ava Swan Ava Swan 6'0" | MB Colfax | 2025 State WA and Lauren York Lauren York 5'7" | S Colfax | 2024 State WA , Colfax, Jordyn Williams Jordyn Williams 5'10" | RS Mt. Spokane | 2024 State WA and Jillian Davis Jillian Davis 5'10" | OH Mt. Spokane | 2024 State WA , Mt. Spokane, and Maddie Finnegan Maddie Finnegan 5'8" | OH Gonzaga Prep | 2024 State WA from Gonzaga Prep.
We love to see results and statistics updated, whether online on a team individual website, and in a perfect world every team in the state would have accurate and timely information posted to a site like MaxPreps. Parents encourage your coaches to upload as much data as they can, they just may need a volunteer (like you!) to help with the process. Did a team or player have a great performance? Drop a line at at jesseetter12@gmail.com, we are always interested in showcasing any player at any level who has an outstanding match, week, etc.!