Panthers get revenge

Turnabout was fair play for Mead volleyball players, who did to the University Titans what the Titans had done to them when they first met during the Greater Spokane League season.

In a match lasting just more than an hour at Mt. Spokane Saturday evening, the Panthers throttled the league champions 25-22, 25-13, 25-15 and defended their District 8 4A championship.

The victory gave the defending state-champion Panthers the top seed into next weekend’s regional tournament at Mead and Mt. Spokane.

“Assuming the Big Nine plays out like I think it might, that’s really important,” said Panthers coach Judy Kight. “It’s one of the tougher regions I’ve seen in years, so we all have to be ready.”

Undefeated Eisenhower, Kamiakin, Pasco and Wenatchee, in that order, will represent the Big Nine.

The Titans are seeded No. 2 from the GSL and the first-time district finalists will be joined by teams whose coaches haven’t been there before, Gonzaga Prep and Mt. Spokane.

G-Prep beat Lewis and Clark 18-25, 26-24, 25-20, 26-24 for the third seed. Mt. Spokane had to win twice at home to earn the fourth seed. The Wildcats eliminated Ferris in the day’s first match 22-25, 25-16, 26-24, 26-24, then ousted LC 25-20, 25-20, 9-25, 25-18 in the tournament nightcap.

While Mead has been a regional perennial and U-Hi is making its third consecutive appearance, G-Prep and Mt. Spokane last played in the tournament in 2000, before either Lisa Phillips and John Reid were their respective head coaches.

“I’m so excited, it’s a big thrill,” said Phillips, who has two different three-year coaching stints at G-Prep.

Echoed Reid, “We’re more than thrilled and I’m more than pumped.”

Pumped is the appropriate word for the effort Mead put forth in emphatically turning the tables on the Titans.

When U-Hi won at Mead on Sept. 28 by almost identical scores, it was the Titans who aggressively took the game to their hosts. This time, Mead kept the heat on U-Hi, rallying from an 18-17 deficit in the first game to lead 22-18 on the serving of Megan Thigpen and the hitting of Rachael Schurman, who finished the night with 18 kills and four blocks.

Thereafter, the match outcome became academic as the Titans could never get into their game.

“We didn’t know what to expect,” said Schurman. “We just focused on playing our own game, coming out strong and not having any distractions.”

Mead roared to a 10-1 lead and increased it to 16-4 in a middle game that featured some explosive hits by Cassie Dobson, Nicole Solum and Debra DeFelice. In the final game, the Panthers broke an 8-all tie with a 10-2 run, primarily on the hitting of Schurman.

“We watched film and saw what shots we could use, used them, and they worked pretty well,” said Dobson.

Kight attributed the turnaround from the earlier loss with hard work.

“That’s what league is for,” she said. “You work hard, find out about the competition and do what you have to do get better when you get to the playoffs. We have a really balanced offense, which helps a lot. There’s power throughout the lineup. Tonight they were just awesome.”

Both Phillips and Reid said the same thing when explaining their teams’ success during final district matches. Both the Bullpups and Wildcats stuck to their game plans.

It didn’t hurt that middle Kelly Mastor and right side hitter Rachael Nicholas of Prep were on their game or that junior setter Liz Hardan alertly took advantage of holes in LC’s defense for timely points.

“I’m pretty much on the court looking for our hitters,” Hardan said. “If their team or our team is rushing plays, I dump it where I see no one’s there.”

As for the hitters, who had 15 kills apiece to account for most of Hardan’s assists, she said, “Kelly’s amazing. She gets up so high I really don’t have to worry about her. Rachael can hit over anyone on the block, pretty much.”

G-Prep and LC were tied at 10 in the first game when the Tigers went on a 7-1 run behind sophomores Hannah Zimmerman and Janae Forney to win. LC was also at game point in the second game before G-Prep scored four consecutive points.

The Bullpups broke a 19-all tie in game three, outscoring the Tigers 6-1. Hardan had four service points, including an ace, and Nicholas pounded home the game-winning point.

The fourth game went back-and-forth. Nicholas had three consecutive kills down the stretch and Hardan stuffed home the match winner.

“LC is so scrappy, nothing would fall, but we kept to our game and didn’t let up,” Phillips said. “Our blocking and offense really helped us.”

After scoring the first five points, Mt. Spokane never trailed against LC in the first game of the match for fourth seed. The Wildcats’ largest lead was 20-12.

In the second game the Wildcats fell behind the Tigers 10-2 and trailed 16-9 before going on a 14-3 tear. Emily Wittkopf was a big reason.

After being blown out, Mt. Spokane bounced back for the game-four win, with Wittkopf dominant in the middle down the stretch. She and Katrina Johnson had 13 kills, and Wittkopf finished the day with eight blocks.