Pomeroy Polishes Off State Crown

B volleyball

History tried to repeat itself at Saturday’s State B volleyball finals in the Spokane Arena, but Pomeroy just couldn’t let that happen.

Twenty years ago, at the first-ever State B tournament (prior to 1977 A and B schools played the same tournament), John Taylor led his then-Oakesdale Nighthawks to the first of his two state titles.

Saturday, he led his Tekoa-Oakesdale Nighthawks into the final match before losing to Pomeroy 15-4, 15-3.

Pomeroy won the state championship on the strength of 6-foot2 senior middle blocker Jessica Henry. Henry finished with 16 kills for the match, as Pomeroy won its first state title in any sport.

“She was virtually in a zone,” said Pirates’ coach Jim Greene.

“They just played better than us,” said Taylor. “They overpowered us.”

Tekoa-Oakesdale made it to the championship round after a hard-fought 16-14, 16-14 win over Northwest Christian.

“I’m afraid to look at the tape,” said Taylor, “we might not have won.”

This championship match marked the first time since 1986 that a team from the Bi-County League did not win the title. The Bi-County had won 17 out of the last 18 state titles, dating to Taylor’s championship teams.

Northwest Christian earned the highest ranking any Panorama League school has ever achieved. Their 15-4, 15-4 win over Reardan earned the Crusaders a third-place finish.

“They have a lot of heart,” said Katie Damon, NWC coach. “The Lord has really blessed this team.”

To earn the right to play Northwest Christian, Reardan had to go through rival Davenport. The Indians beat the Gorillas 6-15, 15-8, 15-6.

“That made our season right there,” said Reardan coach Bryce Wilson.

Davenport came into the day hoping to defend its state title and boasting a No. 1 seed after Friday’s pool play. The Gorillas placed sixth after going winless on trophy day.

The Gorillas met Pomeroy in the semifinals, a matchup many would have expected to see in the finals had they not drawn into the same bracket. After hanging tough in the first game, losing 15-11, the Gorillas lost the second game 15-6.

“Things went downhill after that,” said Pete Schweiger, Davenport coach. “Emotionally, we’re all pretty tired.”

Davenport eventually lost to Ritzville in the trophy match, as the Broncos grabbed fifth.

“I’ve never seen state competition this close,” said coach Kathy Sackmann. “I truly believe that on any given day, things could have flip-flopped.”

Manson (seventh) and Darrington (eighth) rounded-out the day’s competition.

, DataTimes