Rogers’ 14-Year Wait Comes To An End Pirates Oust Gonzaga Prep; Mead Ends Cv’s Season

Rogers waited 14 years for a district volleyball tournament.

The Pirates wouldn’t let a little thing like team unrest stop them.

Or little things like losing their first game Thursday and falling behind 5-0 in the second game.

“We like the hard ones, I guess,” Rogers senior setter Jaime Christensen said after the Pirates rallied past Gonzaga Prep 14-16, 15-13, 15-7 to open the Cavanaugh’s Inns District Greater Spokane League tournament at University.

Rogers, the pleasant surprise of the GSL, started the season strongly. By the GSL’s midway point, the Pirates more or less assured themselves of their first district appearance since 1982.

But Rogers dropped its final two GSL matches, including one to G-Prep, and a few teammates started mumbling. In past years the Pirates might have folded, but seniors such as Christensen called a let’s-clear-the-air meeting.

“The conflict was a combination of things,” said Rogers first-year coach Anna Vanderpool. “When you’re winning, you don’t have those things.

“It just came to a head, but we were willing to sit down and talk it over. Tonight, they played like it was their first match of the season.”

It was the final match of the season for G-Prep and Central Valley, which fell to Mead 15-6, 15-10 in the evening’s finale.

The tourney continues tonight and Saturday at U-Hi. All remaining matches are for seeding to the Nov. 8-9 regional tourney at U-Hi and CV.

Mead meets second-seeded Lewis and Clark at 6 tonight. At 8, undefeated Ferris plays Rogers.

The Big Nine Conference’s regional representatives were also set Thursday. Eisenhower and Walla Walla won district loser-out matches to join top-seeded Pasco and No. 2 Davis (Yakima).

G-Prep couldn’t hold on after winning the first game and leading the second 5-0. Rogers served for the middle game once at 14-12, then three times at 14-13 before senior Kate Hanson’s kill forced a decider.

With the tide turned, Rogers took leads of 5-1 and 9-3 in the clincher, then survived a minor flurry when Rose Sacco served two aces.

“We could have folded up and died, but we’re stronger now,” said Christensen, who had 41 assists.

“That third game - it was like we weren’t going to let them get us down,” Vanderpool said.

The second match had little intensity, as CV played without star player Crystal Lee, who’s on a basketball recruiting trip to Hawaii, and starter Alix Miller, weakened by mononucleosis.

CV had no block on 6-foot-3 Jessica Sanborn, who had 10 kills.

“It’s hard not to have your best player,” said Mead coach Judy Kight of the Bears. “But more power to them. They gave us a fight.”

CV coach Bernie Hite said he supported Lee’s decision because big scholarship money is more vital than one high school match.

The District 7-AA field was completed when East Valley (12-0) capped its first perfect Frontier League season by beating visiting Cheney 6-15, 15-12, 15-13, 15-9, eliminating the Blackhawks (5-7) from the race.

Cheney needed to win and have Clarkston (6-5) lose Saturday to tie for fourth place, the final district berth. EV’s Deb Asbury had nine kills and 13 digs, and served five consecutive aces in the fourth game for an 11-8 lead.

Cheney’s Kara Weitman went down with an injury during the second game.

Colville (8-3) clinched at least a tie for second place with a 15-3, 15-4, 15-6 win at Riverside (0-12).

Melissa Wollan had eight kills and 10 digs for Colville, which completes the league season Saturday at Clarkston. The Rams’ season is over.

, DataTimes