Monday Whiteboard: News and Notes 10/30

The final Whiteboard report for October leads us into the state playoffs and we are ready for November volleyball!   Rankings, Polls, and RPI!   Here is our look at the RPI computer rankings from the WIAA and the coaches' poll rankings from the WSVBCA.   As a reminder per the WIAA- "The RPI will be one tool utilized by the seeding committees to determine first-round bracket pairings into the State Tournaments." That initial seeding can be extremely important, looking at last year's seedings and results the 1B and 2B tournaments accurately determined the 1-4 seeds that all pushed into the semi-finals. In all the other divisions every 1-4 seed finished in the trophy round.   The biggest changes are in the 2A ranks. Shadle Park dropped a match at West Valley Spokane and the RPI for the Highlanders dropped to #7 from the #1 spot. Ellensburg then vaulted into first place passing up B-E, Lynden, and Columbia River. The reason? All three of the opponents Ellensburg faced had records above .500, the other three faced multiple opponents with losing records. Will it matter? We will know in just about two weeks!   All the top RPI teams continue to have an unblemished record, and remember only official matches count in the RPI computer rankings, tournaments are not taken into account. Here are the top teams in each class in the RPI compared to the rankings from the October 25th Washington State Volleyball Coaches Association:   4A: Coaches- Camas (3rd in RPI). RPI: Kennedy Catholic (4th in Coaches).   3A: Coaches- Lynwood. (2nd in RPI). RPI: North Thurston (3rd in Coaches).   2A: Coaches-Columbia River (4th RPI). RPI: Ellensburg (6th Coaches).   1A: Coaches- Cedar Park Christian (2nd RPI). RPI: La Center (2nd in Coaches).   2B: Coaches-Manson ( 3rd RPI). RPI: Adna (2nd Coaches).   1B: Coaches and RPI- Oakesdale   It's late in the season and we have just one Division in perfect alignment, 1B. 2B is very close as well and that is a great thing to see with 1B/2B first up at the Sundome for the state tournament on November 8th and 9th. A big-time performer at a small school can put a team on her back and carry them through the postseason. [player_tooltip player_id='230149' first='Payton' last='Davis'] from Oakesdale is headed to Central Washington as an outside for college, she is an overwhelming force at the 1B level. Danika Hallom is a three-sport athlete who has every shot in the book playing outside for Adna, she will be tough to handle in the 2B bracket. Manson has one of those outliers to contend with, [player_tooltip player_id='266136' first='Stella' last='Petersen'] can put thirty kills on the defense in quick fashion, and teams will not want to be in an elimination game with the Trojans. Don't discount two other Eastern Washington players, [player_tooltip player_id='495743' first='Ava' last='Swan'] from Colfax and [player_tooltip player_id='255393' first='Kaitlyn' last='Hough'] at St. John Endicott/ La Crosse. Hough is committed to Linfield and is a versatile, skilled scorer with a solid all-around game she has worked hard to max out. Swan is an impressive athlete who blasts away from all angles and positions with an explosive left-handed swing.   The next WSVCA Rankings go live on the 1st of November, check out the rankings at <a href="https://www.wsvbca.com/">https://www.wsvbca.com/</a>. Coaches- the WSVCA needs you to vote in the rankings!    WELCOME TO THE PARTY!   Central Valley Bears-Greater Spokane League 4A   The Bears decided enough was enough and pulled off a 5-set upset over Mt. Spokane after starting the season 0-6. Since then the team has been 5-1 and rolling along as they head into the district tournament the GSL shares with the Mid-Columbia Conference. CV will have a home game against MCC 4A #3 Richland, and the Bears look like a team primed to give the Bombers a run. Players and coaches have stepped up and have a proud program back in the mix after a brief downturn, Junior OH/RS [player_tooltip player_id='312334' first='Tatyana' last='Jennings'] just committed to Cal Poly Humboldt and has a fantastic high contact point that gives defenses fits. She teams with fellow junior OH [player_tooltip player_id='289928' first='Keilee' last='Eskelsen'], a smooth 5'11 2025 prospect who has found that junior-year confidence and is taking big swings when it matters most. [player_tooltip player_id='266199' first='Madison' last='Joswick'] is the libero who makes the offense go with tremendous passing and a great ability to read hitters and be in the best possible position to rack up digs. The Bears are getting solid play from setters Elliana Roullier and Melia Ferraro, and defenders Addi Lathan and Campbell Lathan.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://youtu.be/v-oIuK77HXI?si=k3GYYtZhBMliWWA6 </div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Keilee Esckelsen</figcaption></figure>   MATCHUP TO WATCH THIS WEEK   CURTIS vs OLYMPIA- Thursday at Olympia.   Two big-time 4A teams matchup in postseason play to kick off November. The hope is that both teams have everyone healthy and playing at full tilt, Curtis has an awesome mix of talent in every class. The Bears counter with excellent size and six seniors who want to make a deep run at state. Senior setter [player_tooltip player_id='259678' first='Kate' last='Herrick'] will try to keep Olympia in the flow offensively with solid decision-making and precise location, Curtis freshman setter [player_tooltip player_id='459091' first='Kathryn' last='Harris'] is an athletic attacker and defender who sets with equal skill. Harris is uber-competitive and will be looking to rise to the challenge in her first postseason run.     UNDER REVIEW- LAST WEEK'S MATCHUPS TO WATCH.   Skyline and North Creek met in a big 4A battle, North Creek came out strong and won in 4 sets to cap an undefeated regular season schedule. The combination of [player_tooltip player_id='180923' first='Mariyah' last='Young'] (26 assists) and [player_tooltip player_id='222799' first='Quincy' last='Moran'] (19 Kills) helped carry the Jaguars. North Creek has talented attackers all over the court and you dont get any type of break when players like [player_tooltip player_id='249345' first='Simone' last='Grieser'] and [player_tooltip player_id='250046' first='Madyn' last='Cervellera'] rotate into the front row. [player_tooltip player_id='250050' first='Rachel' last='Maginnis'] worked hard for her 13 kills for Skyview, the Spartans are a solid squad looking to make some noise as the playoffs kick-off. After the win over Skyline and a Saturday win over North Creek dropped a surprising playoff match to Eastlake on Saturday, losing in straight sets at home. Eastlake libero [player_tooltip player_id='231740' first='Jessica' last='Martin'] controlled that action on defense and in serve receive totaling 19 digs, 23 serve receptions, and 16 attempts stepping in for the second ball as the setter. Martin was a difference maker and has the look of a senior libero on a mission to keep her last season a memorable one. The Wolves will need to keep finding that confidence and build on the performance this week with competition continuing to heat up.   Chelan and Cashmere met in Wenatchee on Saturday with an automatic state berth on the line after both teams won a match earlier in the day. Chelan took the first set after a big battle, 28-26, the carried the next two by scores of 25-16 and 25-21. [player_tooltip player_id='249310' first='Brynn' last='Hughbanks'] is as tough a player to stop as anyone in the 1A ranks, she is a shot-maker from the front and back row and the Mountain Goats funnel the ball to her as often as possible. [player_tooltip player_id='445692' first='Rylie' last='Harnden'], [player_tooltip player_id='461185' first='Macie' last='Smart'] and 2027 prospect [player_tooltip player_id='722843' first='Taylor' last='Kunz'] played well for a Cashmere team that faces Lakeside (9 Mile ) in a winner-to-state/loser-out match November 4th.   Mead vs. Mt. Spokane met in the annual Catfight at Mt. Spokane. The Wildcats tried to upset the league-leading Panthers, but Mead used a consistent diet of solid sets from [player_tooltip player_id='249351' first='Brielle' last='Wilson'] to attackers [player_tooltip player_id='233895' first='Ava' last='Durgan'] and [player_tooltip player_id='268057' first='Romy' last='Tyler'] to overcome a big-time battle from the Mt. Spokane defenders. It was a Mead sweep, but the scores were 27-25, 32-30 and 25-19. It was highly competitive and a good send-off to excellent senior players on both squads. Mt. Spokane will look to rally in the playoffs behind [player_tooltip player_id='246353' first='Jordyn' last='Williams'], Brooklyn Neilsen, and [player_tooltip player_id='244062' first='Delaney' last='Davis'].     AVCA PLAYER OF THE WEEK- WASHINGTON WEEK 11   Every week the AVCA and MaxPreps award a player of the week to each state. To be eligible for the award, players (teams) must update their stats in MaxPreps. Check out the awards here, <a href="https://www.avca.org/award/2023-maxpreps-avca-girls-high-school-players-of-the-week-award-week-11/">https://www.avca.org/award/2023-maxpreps-avca-girls-high-school-players-of-the-week-award-week-10/</a>. [player_tooltip player_id='388150' first='Maia' last='Sidhu'] from Bear Creek is the week 11 winner for Washington. Sidhu and Bear Creek are on a four-match winning streak and have the opportunity to match up with Cedar Park Christian this week. Sidhu has hit her career high of 20 kills twice in the last two weeks and with her defensive excellence posts regular double-doubles for the Grizzlies. Congratulations on the award!      The Prep Dig Washington Top 250 Expo: December 2nd, 2023   We are excited to bring Washington a Prep Dig Top 250 Expo Showcase this winter! Thank you to the Academy Sportscenter in Lynnwood for use of the awesome facility, we are grateful for the opportunity to play host to the athletes from all over the state there. Our December 2nd event slots in after the State Tournament and Thanksgiving, but before club tournaments fire up. Seniors; I encourage you to make a weekend of it and cap your high school career in the Showcase and play in the 2023 Senior All-State Volleyball Match the next day, December 3rd at Burlington-Edison High School.   For all the information on the Top 250 Expo follow this link: <a href="https://prepdig.com/top-250-expos/">https://prepdig.com/top-250-expos/</a>, The coverage will be extensive on social media and Prep Dig, the competition fun and fierce, and the coaches working the event knowledgeable. We have a discount code for you to use for $10 off EtterExpo2023.   ATTENTION CLUB COACHES: Please enter and personalize your club program on the site, when we add a player or a player sets their free profile they can choose the club and it will have all your social media contact information, logo, etc added.   Here is a link to the club program setup page: <a href="https://prepdig.com/create-your-program/">https://prepdig.com/create-your-program/</a>. CPA from the Spokane area and Seattle Juniors have both been updated recently, under your club profile players who have you listed show with their respective class year.

The final Whiteboard report for October leads us into the state playoffs and we are ready for November volleyball!