Mead tops Eisenhower in finals

In an anticipated 4A regional volleyball final at Mt. Spokane High on Saturday, defending state volleyball champion Mead squared off with unbeaten 2004 title aspirant Eisenhower.

The third game of the contest offered evidence of what to expect with volley after volley and a 19-19 tie before Eisenhower pulled out the two-point win.

But by then the Panthers had two games in hand and their ultimate 25-16, 25-16, 23-25, 25-18 victory offered evidence that they don’t intend to go quietly.

In all, Greater Spokane League teams claimed three of the four regional berths to state during the day, University and Gonzaga Prep joining the Panthers next week in Everett.

And Mt. Spokane just missed, losing to the Bullpups in four games for the final state berth. The Wildcats had beaten Pasco to begin the day.

Mead’s fifth regional title and wins over Eisenhower in three of the last four finals also kept perfect the GSL’s record of never losing a championship. Since 1995, the league has won all 10.

Eisenhower, led by lithe 5-8 junior Nikki Hernandez, an amazing leaper and powerful hitter, had gone through its league and district unscathed and had won two tournaments, including Spokane’s Crossover Classic while beating the Panthers en route.

In the regional final, the Cadets saw the extent of Mead’s offensive options and the inherent difficulty in covering them all.

“We tried to hit some spots and fortunately it worked early on,” said Mead coach Judy Kight. “We tried to keep them off balance a bit.”

Mead didn’t try to overpower its foe early, but instead went over the top of Ike’s blockers with tip lobs, that successfully dropped in the open areas between front and back row players.

When they went to power, they went to a plethora of players, led by Rachael Schurman who scored 25 points on hits or blocks. Other contributors were Megan Thigpen, Cassie Dobson, Debra DeFelice and Nicole Solum.

“It’s great having trust in your hitters,” said Lacey Anderson. “I’m a setter and I know I can go to anyone and they’ll do the job.”

After some early success, when Eisenhower had its only lead until game three, Hernandez did not factor again until the third game. Mead broke an 8-8 tie to lead 15-9 and finished off the match with a 7-2 run.

During a stretch in game two Mead outscored Eisenhower 10-1 to break a 13-all tie.

Hernandez, dominant during Eisenhower’s 25-20, 26-24, 25-22 semifinal win over U-Hi, finally got untracked in game three and helped the Cadets take a 24-19 lead and hang on.

But in game four Mead went back on the offensive and built a 21-12 lead that held up.

“You always hope you have a balanced lineup like that,” said Kight of the multiple contributors. “They’ve been doing a really good job. To win this regional means you’re battle ready for state. We’re excited.”

Earlier, Mead defeated Gonzaga 25-8, 25-19, 25-23, again getting 18 kills from Schurman and contributions from numerous sources.

But the Bullpups bounced back against Mt. Spokane, winning 25-18, 25-20, 23-25, 25-20. They continued to get solid post-season play from Sarah Glass and front row dominance from Kelly Mastor in qualifying for their second state tournament. The first was in 2000.

Pregnant coach Lisa Phillips, was relieved by the win, but joked she felt as if the stress was inducing early labor.

“We played really tight honestly,” she said. “We’ve been focusing on one game at a time, but knew what was at stake. The great thing is we played through it.”

For Mastor qualifying for state was the pinnacle of her career.

“This is like my dream to go to state my senior year,” she said. “I’m so excited, it’s going to be fun.”

After losing to Eisenhower in the semifinals, University had a particularly taxing time against Kamiakin in their match to qualify for state.

The Titans won 25-23, 27-25, 25-15. The first two matches featured extensive runs by both teams, U-Hi scoring seven straight to lead 9-3, then giving up eight in a row to fall behind and, up 24-19, nearly blowing match point.

Kamiakin was at match point in game two, 25-24 before U-Hi came back. Game three was all Daniels, who was playing despite the death of her grandfather two days earlier. She had eight of her match high 20 kills and numerous of her 26 digs. U-Hi scored the final seven points.

“It’s been hard,” said Daniels of her loss. “But my friends have been supportive, I got a lot of flowers and knew I had to be here.”