PREP VOLLEYBALL
1A District IV Tournament
Elma beats White Salmon, falls to Castle Rock
Elma won its first match but fell in the semifinals in the 1A District IV Tournament on Wednesday in Montesano.
The Eagles (11-5 overall) started off the day by beating Columbia-White Salmon (8-8) with set scores of 25-19, 25-23 and 25-17 to start the night.
Elma’s Jalyn Sackrider was too much for the Bruins defense to handle, leading the Eagles with 18 kills. Ella Moore accounted for all of Elma’s assists in the match, with 33.
Elma head coach Kendra Henry said she liked the energy her team displayed in the first match but noted that the team had trouble bouncing back in time for the start of the second match, that began less than 15 minutes later.
“Our first match we came out really strong and we left all of our energy out there,” she said. “It was tough coming back from such a tough first match but they fought hard and played well.”
Castle Rock (15-2) also had to deal with the a short turn around after defeating Montesano in straight sets at the Montesano middle school gym, but the Rockets still managed to get off to a fast start. Castle Rock eventually won the match 25-16, 25-19 and 25-17 to bounce the Eagles to the consolation bracket.
Sackrider had 12 kills in the loss while Anna Perez stayed busy in the back row with 13 digs.
Elma’s Maddi Clark gets the ball over the net in the second set of a match against Castle Rock on Wednesday. Elma lost the match in straight sets and will be in the consolation bracket of the 1A District IV Tournament. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
The Eagles still have a chance to go to state if they win their next two matches in the consolation bracket.
The first test in the bracket will come in the form of a match against Hoquiam at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday in Castle Rock.
Henry isn’t worried about her team heading into the elimination match this weekend.
“This is the best we’ve played all season,” she said. “These teams from down south have a lot of club players sand they’ve been playing for a really long time and a lot of our players our in their third year. What they’re doing right now is amazing.”
Elma 25 25 25 –3
CWS 19 23 17 – 0
Elma 16 19 17 – 0
Castle Rock 25 25 25 –3
1A District IV Tournament
Hoquiam survives through consolation round
The Hoquiam Grizzlies rebounded from a loss to top seed La Center earlier in the day to advance to Saturday’s consolation semifinal round with a win over Forks in the nightcap on Wednesday at La Center High School.
Hoquiam (7-10 overall) opened the tournament with a straight-set loss to La Center (15-2) by scores of 25-14, 25-9 and 25-15.
“La Center is an amazing team and we were outmatched from the start,” Hoquiam head coach Heather Bozich acknowledged.
But the Grizzlies shook off the loss in a consolation-bracket matchup with league-rival Forks (10-7), a team that had defeated Hoquiam twice in the regular season, outscoring the Grizzlies six sets to one in the process.
Led by Rylee Vonhof’s eight kills and 22 assists from Kacey Pelan, the Grizzlies sent the Spartans packing with a 25-18, 25-23 and 25-18 victory.
“The whole team stepped up and played well,” Bozich said of the win. “Our serve receive and defense were both fantastic, which allowed us to covert to our offense easier. … We’re on to Saturday!”
Elyse Goulet added six kills and 11 digs for Hoquiam and Bozich noted Vonhof and Carsyn Munger as being two defensive stalwarts.
“Rylee and Carsyn were extremely tough at the net and slowed Forks down considerably,” she said.
The elimination-game victory means Hoquiam advances to the consolation semifinal, where another familiar league foe awaits. The Elma Eagles, which lost to Castle Rock in the district semifinals on Wednesday, will take on the Grizzlies at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday at Castle Rock High School.
Elma (11-5) defeated Hoquiam by scores of 3-0 and 3-1 in their two league meetings this season.
Hoquiam 14 9 15 — 0
La Center 25 25 25 ‚ 3
Top Players: Hoquiam — Goulet (5 kills), Pelan (13 assists)
Hoquiam 25 25 25 — 3
Forks 18 23 18 — 0
Top Players: Hoquiam — Vonhof (8 kills), Goulet (6 kills, 11 digs), Pelan (22 assists)
1A District IV Tournament
Montesano eliminated from tournament
The Bulldogs had a lead late in the fourth set but couldn’t force a fifth as they fell to Columbia-White Salmon 3-1 on Tuesday night.
The loss to the Bruins, combined with a loss earlier in the day to Castle Rock (15-2), eliminated Monte (7-9) from the district tournament and ended its season.
Columbia-White Salmon (8-8) won the match 25-17, 11-25, 25-21 and 25-21 to eliminate the Bulldogs in a match where Monte struggled to get its attack going.
“We had a total letdown in the second set and our passing was not great, which really offset being able to run anything offensively,” Montesano head coach Renee Volz said. “We also had moments where we did really great too, so we have a lot to reflect on.”
Emma Kahler and Emma Jensen provided most of the offense eight kills apiece in the loss. Janessa Otterstetter led the team with 25 assists.
Montesano’s Jessica Stanfield looks to get her shot down the line against Columbia-White Salmon in the second round of the 1A District IV Tournament Wednesday. (Hasani Grayson | Grays Harbor News Group)
The first match of the evening against a tough Castle Rock team didn’t go Monte’s way either. The Rockets won that match 25-15, 25-20 and 25-14 in the first round of district play.
Otterstetter had 16 assists in the loss. Lindsay Pace spearheaded the attack with seven kills.
Volz said she hopes some of the inconsistencies she saw on Wednesday will sort themselves out in the offseason with the return of most of her starting lineup.
“We’ll have a lot of seniors next year, hopefully, with them we’ll have much more experience and knowledge,” she said. “A lot of my seniors play volleyball around the Harbor in the offseason, so hopefully that will help going into next year.”
Montesano 15 20 14 –1
Castle Rock 25 25 25 – 3
Montesano 17 25 21 21 –1
CWS 25 17 25 25 25 – 3
