No Stopping Saxons Neither Opponents, Injuries, Bad Dogs Could Keep Ferris From Title

The Fates conspired until the last game in Their attempt to mess up the Ferris High School Saxons.

But even a rambunctious puppy couldn’t distract the Saxons from their ultimate goal.

Ferris ascended to the top of the state’s volleyball terrain by defeating Auburn 9-15, 15-11, 15-7 in Saturday’s 4A championship match at the Arena. The Saxons had never won the title, despite entering past tournaments as a favorite.

Betsy Newman arrived moments after the 9 p.m. title match had begun. Her daughter, Elissa Ross, plays middle blocker for Ferris, but Newman nearly missed the final after breaking her right wrist. Newman, walking the family’s puppy before the match, lost her balance attempting to control the perky canine.

Ross was napping when her stepfather woke her up to report Newman’s injury.

Ross, a junior, had become Ferris’ leader in kills after a late-season shoulder injury limited senior Missy Blackshire’s mobility.

Blackshire, recruited by Washington State University, couldn’t extend her arm enough for her jump-serve, leaving reserve Erin Beaumont as a designated server.

“It was really neat that I could get in and try to make a difference for the team,” said Beaumont, a member of the school’s cheer squad.

Ross had totaled 20 kills during Saturday’s quarterfinal and semifinal, and added another 12 in the first two games of the final. The third game had barely begun when Ross came down on an Auburn player’s foot and sprained her right ankle.

Ross limped around behind the Ferris bench, attempting to work out the injury, but she knew her night’s work was complete.

“I realized that it was hurting real bad, and I was watching Shayla (Bush) and she was doing really well,” Ross said.

Bush, a sophomore reserve, nailed five kills in the final game, including three straight during a 7-0 run.

“I have complete confidence in Shayla,” said senior Janelle Morrisette, who continued to set to Bush when she saw a pattern emerging. “I knew our team would rise above (Ross’ injury) and take it to them.”

An assist goes to senior Amy George, who rotated to the middle in Ross’ absence and provided a decoy that allowed Bush to get one-on-one hits against the Auburn defense.

George, who had debated not turning out for volleyball to concentrate on basketball instead, was especially emotional after the match.

“I wouldn’t have been if Elissa hadn’t been hurt,” said George, who begins basketball practice today. “It just meant more to me because we had to fight for it more.”

Blackshire and junior starter Julie Weatherred begin club volleyball try-outs Wednesday. Ferris loses four starters, including Katie Lee.

“For most of the starters this was our third try,” Blackshire said. “So it’s cool we finally did it.”

“The team we had this year was awesome, but at the same time we’ll have a strong rebuilding year,” Weatherred said. “We’ll want to (return to state) because now we know what it’s like.”

“I think the coolest thing about this team is that it had been a team that relied on Missy for the big kill,” said eight-year Saxons coach Stacey Ward. “For the last three weeks we didn’t have a go-to hitter, and I think that caused everyone to say, ‘We’re better than a one-person team.”’

The Saxons finished the season 40-1-1, with a loss to Mead and a tie with Davis of Yakima.

Ferris was also Greater Spokane League, District 8 and Region IV champ, and added titles in the Crossover Classic in Spokane and the Kentwood Invitational. The GSL’s last state champion, North Central in 1995, didn’t win any title before state.

Auburn finished second for the fourth time in 10 years. Trojans coach Nancy Zehnder, one of Ward’s good friends in the business, again earned her nickname, ‘The Zehnd Master.’ Auburn started four underclassmen.

“I hope they realize how well they played,” Ward said of Auburn. “I told Nancy how tough that match was for both teams.”

Tournament attendance was 9,800, up slightly from 1996.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo