Bullpups Get To Howl

4A volleyball

Who let these ‘Pups out?

The Gonzaga Prep Bullpups unleashed themselves from years of mediocre volleyball during the weekend by overpowering the field at the Region IV 4A Tournament.

The clinching moment was Prep’s 15-6, 15-4 dismantling of Lewis and Clark Saturday in the championship match at Mt. Spokane High. Keva Sonderen and Juliann Laney combined for 19 kills to charge the offense, and Kristi Thorne and Sarah Everstine shared 13 digs to showcase the defense.

G-Prep won its first postseason tournament and qualified for its first State 4A tournament.

The Bullpups will be joined at state by Greater Spokane League mates LC and Mead, and Big Nine Conference regular-season champion Kamiakin.

GSL coaches were concerned about G-Prep all season, yet the Bullpups finished in sixth place in league standings. G-Prep started to show its mettle at last weekend’s District 8 Tournament, when it earned the No. 3 seed to regional.

“(The GSL) knew we would come on strong,” Sonderen said. “Now, we have everything we need, because we’re all coming together.”

“We’re finally coming together as a team,” echoed four-year varsity member Laura Bruya, who had 43 assists on the day. “(Six varsity players) have been together for three years, so we know what to do.”

Prep landed its state berth by opening the day with a 15-10, 7-15, 15-10 win over Kamiakin. The Bullpups pulled away in the third game by scoring nine consecutive points, two on aces by sophomore Jennifer Clinton.

“You always want people to pull together emotionally and physically when the playoffs start,” said Prep’s first-year coach Dana Parnell. “That’s been our road lately.”

LC made the championship match by downing Mt. Spokane for the fourth time this season. The Tigers won the first game 16-14 after trailing 12-3. They lost the middle game 15-10, but won the clinching game by the same score with two crucial late kills by senior Meghan Sanborn.

“What I did near the end was switch Meghan to the middle,” said coach Buzzie Welch. “That gave her some different swings, and gave Mt. Spokane a new look.”

“This is the greatest,” said Sanborn, who will play in her fourth consecutive state tournament. “Over the whole year, we’ve steadily improved. This is definitely the best we’ve played.”

LC qualified for its ninth state tournament, all since 1990. The Tigers have been regional runners-up three times.

Mead earned the right to defend its state title by eliminating Mt. Spokane 15-4, 15-11. The Panthers scored the final 10 points of the first game, four on aces, and overcame Mt. Spokane’s 11-9 lead in the second game.

“The title `defending state champion’ doesn’t mean a lot to me because this team has to do it on its own,” said Mead coach Judy Kight. “What matters is what they earn on their own.”

Mead, last year’s regional champ, will make its 10th trip to state.

Kamiakin landed its first state berth since 1987 by humbling Walla Walla 15-4, 15-0. The Braves also pulled off a double whammy by topping Mead 15-13, 7-15, 15-9 in the match for third and fourth seeds. Kamiakin opened the tourney on Friday by sweeping Mead, an effort no other 4A team has accomplished this season.

The regional tournament, the sixth in history, reaffirmed the GSL’s superiority. The GSL has won all six titles, and has had 11 of the 12 participants in the championship matches.

GSL teams have a 17-5 edge on the Big Nine when it comes to securing state berths at region.

State begins Friday at the Arena.