Highlanders reached their peak at perfect time of season

They had a losing record in the Greater Spokane League, and if Mt. Spokane weren’t a 3A team, the Shadle Park Highlanders’ volleyball season would have been over weeks ago.

So calling Shadle a Cinderella team isn’t exactly a stretch.

Alongside league opponents Mead and Lewis and Clark, Shadle is spending the weekend in Kennewick for the State 4A tournament. While Mead and the LC Tigers were not surprise qualifiers, the Highlanders seemed unlikely contenders.

After finishing 4-6 in league, good for seventh place, Shadle advanced as the sixth seed to the district tournament because the third-place Mt. Spokane Wildcats played against other 3A teams in districts. Shadle defeated Central Valley in four games and swept Ferris to earn a spot into last weekend’s regional tournament.

It was there the GSL proved to be too much for Columbia Basin League teams.

The fourth-seeded Highlanders, who upset top-seeded Wenatchee in the first round, picked the right time to shine. Shadle lost to LC in four games and narrowly eliminated third-seeded Gonzaga Prep in five, after losing the first two, to clinch the final state berth.

“We set a goal at the beginning of the year that we wanted to make it to state,” Shadle senior co-captain Brynn DeLong said. “We didn’t want to end our season not accomplishing our goal.”

Shadle coach Brooke Cooper said the team’s explosion wasn’t too sudden.

“Our biggest challenge at the beginning was that we didn’t have a whole lot of leadership,” Cooper said. “Once we felt comfortable in our roles, that’s when season started to turn around.”

The Highlanders were 3-1 before their league schedule got tough.

“We had our moments,” Cooper said. “We started the year really strong, and in the middle of the schedule we lost to Mead in four games and played Ferris right after and lost in five after winning the first two games.

“That was tough, coming off a loss like that. After that we second-guessed ourselves for a while, not knowing if we were a good team or not. It wasn’t again until we played at University and took them to five games. In the fifth game we sort of looked at ourselves and said, ‘We can do this, let’s go out there and do this,’ and we haven’t looked back since.”

Before they could begin to look forward, the Highlanders needed the missing leadership, which was found in senior captains DeLong and Lexi Bishop and junior Brianne Brown.

DeLong is the team’s power player, with a quick approach and a fast arm swing.

“(Brynn) brings so much power,” Cooper said of the 5-foot-10 middle hitter. “When she gets on top of that ball, there isn’t a person who can stop her. Everything is just very powerful and when she is on, the whole team just explodes.”

Bishop, a 5-7 outside hitter, provides the team with stability.

“(Lexi) is so level and consistent,” Cooper said. “When we need it the most, she will find that hole. She is that really steady player that every team needs.”

Cooper calls Brown, who had a season-high 18 kills in the regional match against G-Prep, the “next Brynn DeLong,” adding that she is “super smart and knows where the holes are and goes after those.”

Now the Highlanders (19-12 overall), having already proved that they belong at state, have today and Saturday to show just how long they can dance.

Shadle has already hit its first speed bump. The Highlanders will be without starting setter Tristen Kelly, who fractured her foot in Monday’s practice.

“(Tristen) has really stepped up this year,” Cooper said. “It’s going to be tough, but I’m glad we have had a couple of days to practice. She is a huge part of our offense, so it’s going to be hard not having her.”

But like Mead and LC, Shadle has a deep bench.

“Ali (McCoy) has had nights where she has really stepped up and Stacy Kent has had some solid blocking when we needed it, so who knows?” Cooper said. “We’re pretty deep. That’s one thing about our team – if someone isn’t having a good night, we have other options.”

The Highlanders’ first-round match is today at 9:45 a.m. against Rogers of Puyallup. If they win, and LC defeats first-round opponent Marysville-Pilchuck, the teams will meet in the quarterfinals at 6:45 p.m. The loser of that match could finish no higher than fifth place. Three-time defending champion Mead plays Monroe at 11:45 a.m.