Faces Familiar In B Five 1994 Placers Back For Quarterfinal Action

Fans of the State B volleyball tournament at Eastern Washington University Pavillion must be wondering if they are suffering from a case of deja vu.

Two of the top four finishers from the 1994 state tournament, defending champion Wilbur-Creston and Kalama (fourth), stomped through pool play to take two of the four No. 1 seeds into today’s quarterfinals.

Additionally, three other 1994 placers are still around - Toutle Lake, runner-up last year; Davenport, third; and Morton, sixth, also qualified for the second round as No. 2 seeds.

In the quarterfinals, Toutle Lake will meet Klickitat, Morton plays Kalama, Davenport meets Wilbur-Creston and Odessa takes on St. John-Endicott.

Second-round matches begin at 8:30 a.m. at EWU with placing matches beginning at 4:30 p.m. at the Spokane Arena.

Friday, the St. John-Endicott Eagles pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament, knocking off co-favorite Toutle Lake 15-7, 15-12 in Pool B.

The Eagles took out the second- ranked Fighting Ducks in grand fashion, building 11-5 and 13-7 leads during the first game. St. John-Endicott then had to fight back from a 10-7 deficit in game two for the win. Tricia Lamb, Andee Schmick and Staci Garrett controlled the net throughout with Lamb and Schmick leading the Eagles in kills with nine.

“This is our biggest win this year,” Eagles coach Sandy Martin said. “Volleyball is a game of momentum and we were on a high momentum level tonight.”

Earlier in the day, St. John-Endicott beat Orcas Island 15-7, 15-8 in its first match and slipped past Reardan 15-13, 15-13 in the second match to run its record to 3-0 for the tournament.

The state’s top-ranked Wilbur-Creston Wildcats showed why they’re one of the favorites to win a second consecutive state championship. The Wildcats demolished Wilson Creek 15-3, 15-9 in their first match in Pool C before getting a test against the tenth-ranked Lopez Island Lobos in match two.

In game one, the Wildcats trailed 8-11 and 11-13, but two aces by setter Lacey Clark and two kills by outside hitter Jessica Martin gave Wilbur-Creston the win, 15-13. Martin, who has already signed a letter of intent to play volleyball next year at Washington State, took control in the second game en route to a 15-3 win.

In the Wildcats’ final match, they disposed of the sixth-ranked Morton Huskies 15-4, 15-6 as Martin and outside hitter Holly Arden shut down the Huskies at the net. Morton will be the second seed from Pool C.

“Martin and Arden were really pounding the ball,” Wilbur-Creston coach Chuck Wyborney said. “I was really pleased with our defensive effort.”

In Pool D, the Klickitat Vandals stopped the Davenport Gorillas 15-12, 15-12 in the battle for the No. 1 seed. In a tight game one, the Vandals built an 11-8 lead before the Gorillas stormed back to tie it. Jill Pimley then took over on offense helping Klickitat to a 14-12 lead before Michele Steindorf closed out the game with a service ace.

In their first two matches, the Vandals beat Seattle Lutheran 15-6, 15-7 and DeSales 15-13, 15-7. Davenport also beat DeSales (15-13, 15-11) and Seattle Lutheran (15-7, 15-5) to set up the showdown with Klickitat.

The Kalama Chinooks made rubble out of Pool A. In their first match, the fourth-ranked Chinooks dropped the five-time state champion Odessa Tigers 15-11, 15-11 and then crushed Kittitas 15-7, 15-2 in match two.

Kalama then outmanned Bridgeport/Mansfield 15-3, 15-5, running off eight straight points to come back from a 0-3 deficit in game one and broke open a 3-2 lead in game two by running off seven straight points.

“These girls are out for blood,” first-year Kalama coach Marcy Watkins said. “It”s awesome that my starters can get the job done early and then I can put my subs in with confidence.”

If Kalama and Toutle Lake get by their opponents in the quarterfinals, they will meet for the fifth time this year in the semifinals. Each team has won two with the Chinooks taking the last two battles.

“If we play (Toutle Lake), whoever is on top of their game at that moment will win,” Watkins said.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: THE ELITE EIGHT Qualifiers for today’s Class B trophy round at the Arena: Toutle Lake Klickitat Morton Kalama Davenport Wilbur-Creston Odessa St. John-Endicott