Panthers turn building year into state title

OK, Judy Kight, have you and the rest of those Mead Panthers caught your breath yet?

In case you missed it, the Mead volleyball team downed Lewis and Clark to win the 4A state volleyball title Saturday night at the Toyota Center in Kennewick. It was the Panthers’ fourth consecutive title.

The Panthers are the first 4A team to accomplish the feat. Class B Odessa did it from 1989-92. And while the season hasn’t even been over for a week, it isn’t too early to think about next year.

“You never know how a team is going to come together, and the kinds of challenges they will come up with,” Kight said. “This team met several challenges, and they just kept plugging along and kept getting better.”

After last year’s state title, Kight lost eight seniors, including her entire starting lineup. That left people talking about this season as if it would be about rebuilding. And so Kight took eight newcomers and built herself a new generation of powerhouse players.

This year there were two seniors on the team, co-captain Ashley Hutchinson and Liberty (Calif.) High school transfer Kady Try. Both girls were starters and critical to the well-oiled Panther offense.

Hutchinson, now a three-time state champ, is a 5-foot-11 right-side hitter. And Try, a 5-11 outside hitter whose consistency and power was an anchor in the front and back rows, also will be missed.

Juniors Karyn Mockel and Meg Ryan also were part of last year’s championship lineup and will be crucial next year.

Mockel is a setter who also provides the team with solid defense. In this year’s state semifinal match against Kentwood, Mockel finished with 58 assists and 28 digs.

Ryan, a 5-10 outside hitter, led her team with eight kills in the championship match against the Tigers and was a solid presence all season for the Panthers.

The team’s other juniors this season were libero Lindsey Petroni, 6-2 middle blocker Emma Olgard, Alex Cey, Amanda Dahlstrom and Beth Altena. Freshman Alexis Olgard, a 6-4 middle blocker who had nine blocks in the championship, will be back along with freshman setter Emma Barrington.

“I think we have great potential for growth in our team. They haven’t peaked yet,” Kight said. “Once you get a taste of that whole state tournament feeling, you want it back again, and I think that they will be highly motivated to do that again.”

The Greater Spokane League had a third team at the state tournament – the Shadle Park Highlanders.

The Highlanders, after upsetting Gonzaga Prep at the regional tournament to earn the final state berth, lost to Central Kitsap in three games and finished in eighth-place.

Seniors Lexi Bishop and Brynn DeLong will be greatly missed. DeLong, a 5-11 middle blocker, was Shadle’s offensive weapon, and Bishop added a steady swing on the outside. The Highlanders are losing outside hitter Alissa McCoy and Samantha Houston.

Critical returners will be junior setter Tristen Kelly, who fractured her foot and was unable to play at state, and middle hitter Brianne Brown. Lexie Pettersen, a 6-0 middle, also will contribute.