La Conner ends 60-0
Twenty consecutive volleyball matches, each a three-game sweep. That’s 60 consecutive games won.
La Conner won them all, and with them, the State 2B championship Saturday at Eastern Washington University. The undefeated Braves swept Wilbur-Creston in the title match 25-15, 25-22, 25-18.
“We didn’t give the whole idea of a perfect season any thought coming in,” senior outside hitter Jaynie Hancock said. “We just focused in on winning every game.”
“These girls have been playing club volleyball together since the seventh grade,” coach Suzanne Marble said. “They’ve been dedicated and we’ve pushed them hard every day in practice. We work hard in practice and push them to the point of exhaustion.
“Once the game starts, they’re so prepared that we just let them go out and play.”
La Conner is no stranger to championship games, losing to Colfax in the State 1A title game each of the past two seasons, including a five-game thriller a year ago in Yakima’s SunDome.
La Conner, the 1A champion in 2002, is the first school from west of the Cascades to win a Class B volleyball championship since Friday Harbor in 1986.
With reclassification, the Braves dropped to the new 2B ranks for the 2006-07 school year. Their new league wasn’t particularly strong, so the Braves entered tournaments against bigger schools – sweeping 3A finalist Kennedy in a non-league tournament.
“We’ve even held practice after league matches just to make sure we got our work in,” Marble said. “The match itself would be over in 45 minutes.”
The championship match didn’t last much longer.
Wilbur-Creston led by as many as two points several times in the second game, holding a 20-18 advantage before surrendering a sideout and three straight service points to trail 22-20.
Hancock led La Conner with 21 digs in the title match. Setter Carlee Marble had 27 assists and Cora Kellerman added eight kills and six blocks.
For all its success, Hancock said, La Conner refused to get cocky.
“We’re confident, but we try to avoid being cocky at all,” she said. “We want to win, and we want to win with class.”
La Conner came into the day’s action focused on its showdown with Davenport.
“We like to be prepared for every match,” Hancock said. “We were really prepared for Davenport. We came in ranked No. 1 in the state, Davenport No. 2. This was a match we were looking forward to.”
La Conner cruised to a 25-21, 25-22, 25-12 victory, giving up just 55 points.
The Braves graduate four seniors, but Marble isn’t concerned about a drop-off.
“Our junior varsity finished the year undefeated and won every match, two games to none,” she said. “We’ve got a rich tradition of volleyball going right now and everyone really wants to be part of this core group.”
The Wildcats earned their way into the title match by knocking off Waterville 28-30, 25-18, 25-21, 25-22.
W-C entered the tournament with four losses, three to Davenport. Coach Brandi Maioho’s Wildcats finished 17-5.
Davenport’s Gorillas bounced back from its semifinal loss to earn the third-place trophy, knocking off Waterville 25-17, 25-21, 22-25, 25-15. Waterville took home sixth place.
Life Christian defeated Riverside Christian 25-22, 25-17, 23-25, 10-25, 15-11 in the match for fourth and seventh.
DeSales defeated Lind-Ritzville 25-16, 25-19, 24-26, 25-16 in the match for fifth and eighth.