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GARFIELD MAKES ITS FIRST STATE APPEARANCE |
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EVERETT — Shelly Johnson is brimming with confidence as her Marysville-Pilchuck team makes a bid for its first Class 4A state volleyball championship. "This team can go all the way if they play their game," the coach said. The eight-ranked Tomahawks (26-4) are halfway there after beating Central Kitsap and Capital to advance to today's 1 p.m. semifinals against No. 2 Spanaway Lake. Spanaway Lake (28-4) advanced with a 3-1 victory over No. 6 Auburn Riverside, avenging an earlier loss to the Ravens in the South Puget Sound League tournament championship. |
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In the other semifinal, No. 4 Heritage of Vancouver (25-3) plays top-ranked Mead of Spokane (31-2), also at 1 p.m. |
"They're proud of themselves," Garfield coach Leslie Hamann said. "They showed people that Garfield can play at state, and we expect to be back."
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Heritage coach Chelinda Dettorre knows what it takes to win a state volleyball championship, and she says the Timberwolves have it as they are making the most of their first trip to the big dance. And she says her Heritage team has it. Dettorre coached Prairie to the 1998 state title, when her daughter Andrea was a senior setter, then left to start the Heritage program the following year. Andrea is now her assistant coach. Chelinda remembered telling her team, "You can do this. We know what it takes to do this and you guys have it." Mead coach Judy Kight believes her team has it, too. Like Dettorre, she knows what it takes. The Panthers from Spokane won the title the year after Prairie and have placed in the top five the past three years, when Kentlake hogged the crown. "Absolutely we have what it takes," Kight said after Mead beat No. 3 Snohomish in last night's quarterfinals, 3-0. "We just have to play our game. When we do that, we're pretty formidable." Mead has been especially impressive on defense. "They're incredible," Auburn coach Nancy Zehnder said after the Panthers rolled past her team 3-0 in the first round. "They're not the best offensive team, but they play great defense. They've got a No. 1 ranking for a reason." Heritage beat Redmond and Emerald Ridge to reach the semis. The Timberwolves were especially impressive against Emerald Ridge, which had been red hot after reaching the championship game of the West Central bi-district tournament last weekend. Redmond made Heritage work for its first-round victory. The underdog Mustangs won the first game, 26-24, then tightened up. "We got tense and started feeling the pressure, like, 'Hey we could win this,' " coach Ross Johnson said. "They lost that, have-fun, play-for-a-bonus attitude." Heritage swept the next three games, 25-19, 25-19, 25-17. The Mustangs were then eliminated by No. 10 Kamiakin 3-0 to finish the season 22-7. Garfield, making its first state appearance, had a short stay, losing to Spanaway Lake and Eisenhower. The young Bulldogs, with just one senior in the lineup, didn't win a game, but made their presence felt. They lost the final game to Spanaway Lake 25-23 and dropped a marathon opener to Eisenhower of Yakima, 37-35. "They're proud of themselves," Garfield coach Leslie Hamann said. "They showed people that Garfield can play at state, and we expect to be back." Auburn Riverside and Eisenhower played the most entertaining first-round match yesterday with the Ravens winning in five. "I think my kids were pretty nervous at first, but they picked it up at the end," coach Chris Leverenz said. The Ravens are looking for their first trophy since finishing fourth in 1997. Auburn rebounded from its loss to Mead by eliminating Olympia, 3-0. |
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| "Garfield Makes First ..." link to Seattle Times |
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