Cats, Hounds in semifinals

KENNEWICK – Mt. Spokane and Pullman took different routes Friday as both advanced to the semifinals of the State 3A and 2A volleyball tournaments, respectively.

Mt. Spokane survived a slow start to top Capital 18-25, 26-24, 25-23, 25-11 in the quarterfinals at the Toyota Center.

The Wildcats will take on Prairie in the semifinals this afternoon at 2.

Pullman, meanwhile, rallied from a two-set deficit to knock off Burlington-Edison 25-27, 29-31, 25-22, 25-10, 16-14 in the quarterfinals.

The Greyhounds will meet Black Hills in the semifinals this afternoon at 2.

West Valley and Colville face loser-out matches today.

3A: Mt. Spokane had to hurry up and wait for its quarterfinal match, which was delayed by nearly 90 minutes.

Once it finally started, the Wildcats had to send themselves a wake-up call. Actually, Capital did that by winning the first set.

Mt. Spokane gradually got going and none too soon for coach John Reid.

“It was a long layoff (between matches) and our inexperience showed,” Reid said. “Our sophomores got a little tentative. I had to get after a couple of people. I normally don’t like to do that, but they turned around and listened to me. Then I gave them some space. I told them it’s a player’s game. Here are the adjustments. And they responded.”

Sophomore outside hitter Annie Arnzen led with 17 kills. Junior setter Kenzie Reid had 29 assists.

The way the Wildcats finished the match has Reid excited about today.

“We need to carry that momentum over,” he said.

In the Wildcats’ opening-round match, a good start was interrupted in the second set.

The Wildcats had difficult blocking Timberline’s attack. Then they made an adjustment.

“They were hitting across the court and we’re used to people in our league burying it down the line,” Reid said. “We had to adjust our block.”

It was effective the final two sets.

Arnzen finished with a match-high 21 kills and LeAnna Lloyd had 12. Jaclyn Brim had six blocks.

2A: The Greyhounds looked as if they were done when they found themselves in a two-set hole. But Pullman found an answer.

Then in the fifth set, the Greyhounds fended off six match points when they trailed 14-8.

Danielle Hodge led Pullman with 18 kills and four blocks and Shelby Cheslek had 15 kills and four blocks.

Pullman’s opener was never in doubt. The Greyhounds swept Lynden 25-17, 25-18, 25-12.

But Pullman coach Dave Weitz didn’t recognize his team until the third set.

“It wasn’t really nerves. It was a lot of adrenaline,” Weitz said.

Cheslek led the Greyhounds with 10 kills and Hodge added nine.

West Valley won its opener 20-25, 25-12, 25-21, 25-16 over R.A. Long before falling to Archbishop Murphy 15-25, 25-16, 25-14, 25-18.

WV had to dig out of an early hole against R.A. Long.

“We’re historically a little late starting,” WV coach Drew Wendle said.

Bailey Wold led WV with 14 kills and six aces. Shaniqua Nilles added nine kills, 13 digs and eight blocks.

In the loss to Archbishop Murphy, WV won the first set but couldn’t get anything going the final three sets. Wold led with 13 kills and setter Brooklyn Robinson had 31 assists.

WV faces Mark Morris today, with the winner advancing to play for fourth and seventh.

Colville ran into a buzz saw in Selah. After a competitive opening set, Selah didn’t give the Indians a chance in the final two sets.

Makayla Carr and Emily Pond each had eight kills for Colville. The Indians take on Washington in an elimination match.