Enumclaw opens against Holy Names in Kennewick

By winning four of five district matches, the Enumclaw High volleyball team finds itself headed to the Class 3A state championships.

The state tournament is set for Friday and Saturday at the Toyota Center in Kennewick.

The Hornets open state play with an 8 a.m. match Friday against Holy Names Academy. The other side of the bracket includes Eastside Catholic and Auburn Riverside. The two winners will square off at 5 p.m. Friday, while the two losers will take the court at 3:15 p.m.

The state tournament is a double-elimination affair.

Enumclaw had earned its state berth during the Nov. 6-7 West Central/Southwest District tournament at Auburn Mountainview High.

Enumclaw opened district play with a 3-1 victory over Lincoln, then fell into the loser’s bracket with a 3-0 setback to Columbia River – a team that ended up winning the district tourney.

Facing elimination, the Hornet crew responded by defeating Kelso and Capital. Then, in a match that decided fifth or sixth place, Enumclaw scored a 3-2 victory over Prairie High.

White River paired against Fife in Class 2A opener

With a district volleyball championship safely tucked away, the White River High girls are now headed to the Class 2A state tournament.

The Hornets won four straight matches Friday and Saturday to take the No. 1 seed from the West Central District 3/SeaKing District 2 tournament, staged at Washington and Franklin Pierce high schools.

As district champions, the White River crew enters the state tournament, which will be conducted Friday and Saturday at St. Martin’s University in Lacey.

White River’s first state match is against a familiar foe, the Fife Trojans. Both are members of the South Puget Sound League 2A and met twice during the regular season; White River won both those contests 3-0.

The two will meet in state play at 11 a.m. Friday. If the Hornets win, they will play at 7 p.m. Friday against either Woodland or Pullman. Should the Hornets lose their opener, they would play at 3 p.m. Friday against the Woodland/Pullman loser.

White River earned its district title with a hard-fought, 3-2 victory over North Kitsap. The Vikings won the opening game, but the Hornets battled back with 25-22 and 25-23 wins. North Kitsap took game four to set up a decisive finale, which White River captured in dramatic fashion, 16-14.

During the marathon match, Mahealani Stone tallied 44 assists; Kelsey Williams had 11 kills and 20 digs; Taylor Keating finished with 21 kills and 13 digs; Keegan Strobeck had 12 kills; and Megan Vandegrift registered 11 digs.

To get to the district title match White River had defeated Liberty High 3-2. It also was a five-game affair in which the opposition took an opening-game victory. The teams alternated the next three to force a deciding game five. The Hornets advanced with a 15-11 verdict.

In that semifinal match, Kendall Bird finished with 13 kills and four blocks; Stone at 26 assists and 10 digs; Strobeck had 18 kills and four blocks; and Hope Baldyga came up with 14 digs.

On the opening day of districts, White River posted a 3-1 victory over Olympic High and a 3-0 win over Foster.