Mead completes drive for five

KENNEWICK – The elated Mead Panthers did what they had the past four years on this Saturday night in mid-November, raising the state championship trophy high above their heads.

This time, however, something was different – for the champions and the runner-up.

Destiny’s darlings rewrote the Washington state volleyball history books, capturing an unprecedented fifth straight State 4A title against the charged up Lewis and Clark Tigers in an all-Greater Spokane League final at the Toyota Center.

The Panthers topped the Tigers in four games, 25-18, 20-25, 25-21, 25-21. It was the fifth time Mead beat LC this season.

“It’s a little surreal,” Mead coach Judy Kight said. “Here we are playing LC the fifth time, and it’s the state championship … they played fantastic, they just kept getting better and better as the playoff run went on.”

The Panthers started off quick in the first game, taking a 21-13 lead when Alexis Olgard led the Panthers on a four-point run.

Laurie Yearout had two kills and Oceana Bush one out of the back row to pull the Tigers within five points at 23-18, but a kill by Meg Ryan gave the Panthers match point. Beth Altena, playing with a broken finger on her right hand, slammed a serve that was one-touched and Mead took the game.

“I wasn’t going to sit out my senior year for the state championship,” said Altena, who finished with four blocks.

Tied at 17 in the second game, Hilary Koenigs, who led the Tigers with 19 assists, served five points in a run where Chloe Rowand killed off three points.

Rowand had nine kills and 11 blocks in the match.

The Panthers earned three more points to pull within two at 22-20, but two Tigers points later Laurie Yearout found an open corner as LC evened the match score at one-all.

The Panthers rolled in the third game, beginning with a 7-0 run and ending with a Ryan kill.

Alexis Olgard blasted a hit into the middle of the court for the final point of the match to finish with a team-leading 13 kills. She also finished with four blocks.

“It really was a whole new level of volleyball, and this tournament was a tough tournament – a lot of hype around it from the West Side and the East Side – and you just have to calm down,” Kight said.

“Every single championship is different and every single team is different – and this is very special to me and these girls. They earned it.”

The moment was also special for LC coach Julie Yearout and her Tigers, who had a different reaction from last year when the Panthers topped them in the state final.

“They left it all out there and they know it,” Julie Yearout said. “Chloe said it perfect when she said, ‘Hey, we worked hard for second place.’ “

At the storybook conclusion of their semifinal matches, Kight and Yearout just looked at each other, smiled and shook their heads in disbelief.

It was all they could do.

Against the odds, in the face of as much adversity as either squad had seen this season, they had found their way to each other once again.

Kight’s Panthers dropped the first two games in their semifinal match against Rogers of Puyallup, while Yearout’s Tigers took an unlikely 2-1 lead over a tenacious Kentwood team.

For the better part of an hour, it looked as if Yearout would be playing for the title while the perennial champs would be knocked off.

The Tigers dropped the fourth game, but, side-by-side, Mead and LC both pounced on the opportunity to keep the state title in Spokane.

“When Mead lost (the second game) and we lost (the fourth game), I thought, ‘The last thing I want is to be playing them for third and sixth,’ ” Yearout said.

Bush and Laurie Yearout combined for 40 digs and libero Vally Moua added 14 for LC. Bush also led the Tigers with 16 kills.

Amanda Dahlstrom finished with 19 digs and 12 kills for Mead. Ryan led the Panthers with 26 digs and Karyn Mockel had 38 assists.

Shadle Park d. Monroe 25-21, 25-21, 25-19: The comeback kids did it again.

After losing in the first round on Friday to Kamiak, the eventual fourth-place finisher, the Highlanders (13-2) earned a return trip to the fifth-eighth place match and improved on last year’s eighth-place finish to capture the fifth-place trophy with a win over the Bearcats.

The Highlanders swept Bellarmine Prep and defeated Kentlake en route to the trophy match.

“I just think that’s kind of where we were supposed to be,” Shadle Park coach Brooke Cooper said. “The seniors really stepped up, and all day they were saying ‘We’ve got to get fifth,’ and even before we came to state, Brianne (Brown) was saying ‘I just want to finish higher than last year.”

Mission accomplished.

Brown had 10 kills and Lexi Pettersen finished with five blocks to lead Shadle at the net. Junior setter Lindsay Niemeier collected 32 assists.