Ridgeline wins first state title in school history; beats North Thurston in 3A volleyball championship in five sets
YAKIMA – It took the Ridgeline volleyball team just four years to reach the top of its sport.
That relative sprint to the championship by program standards, however, only was achieved with a marathon of a Saturday at the Yakima Valley SunDome.
The top-seeded Falcons survived a pair of five-set matches, the first starting around lunchtime and the second as the night inched past 11 p.m., to claim the Class 3A state title in their first trip to the state tournament.
“I feel like I’ve not fully processed it yet,” said Ridgeline senior Brooklyn Hillman, a freshman when the program launched in 2021. “It’s crazy.”
That’s an apt description for Saturday’s finale – an 18-25, 25-13, 21-25, 25-13, 15-6 two-hour back-and-forth with No. 2 North Thurston.
None of the five sets were particular nail-biters, rather one team jumped out to a lead and controlled the action.
For the Falcons (19-1), that meant dropping the first set against the Rams and in their semifinal victory against Seattle Prep. They also struggled in the opening sets Friday against Bishop Blanchet and Liberty of Renton, but still managed to post sweeps.
“It’s kind of the opposite of our season, we usually come out adrenaline pumping.” Ridgeline coach Whitney Abell said. “This is our first showing at state and so it was kind of the nerves of what to expect.”
The Falcons calmed themselves in the second set of the final, with sophomore Ryan Libey and senior Reagan Rothley leading the play at the net, and libero Jade Livingston helping settle a defense that North Thurston (26-2) had its way with in the opening set, in particular 6-foot-3 junior Addy Conner, a Cal Poly beach volleyball recruit.
Momentum, however, swung back toward the Rams, as they used a 6-1 surge midway through the third set to seize control, and Ridgeline could get no closer than two.
With their season on the brink, the Falcons didn’t get frazzled. Instead, they were dancing to the ’80s music pumping through the sound system between sets.
“I think we try to keep things fun and when we play fun we play our best,” Hillman.
Indeed.
An 8-2 run keyed by a trio of kills by 5-foot-11 junior Olivia Phipps pushed the Falcons to a 12-6 lead and they knotted the match with junior Lizzy O’Connell’s block capping the set.
The fifth set proved anticlimactic with Ridgeline racing to a 5-0 lead behind the serving of senior setter Araleigh Arnold.
“The girls all season have produced like that in the fifth set,” Abell said. “They know what’s on the line.”
Rahni Greene delivered a couple kills in the set, and teamed with Hillman for an early block.
A Libey kill put the Falcons on match point, and North Thurston was unable to get the ball over the net after a O’Connell spike, and the celebration began.
Abell put the win in perspective
“Each year that this program was growing – it was a rocky start – but each year the girls continued to build and lay a brick from our first graduating seniors to our first group of kids who have been at Ridgeline all four years … so they can achieve something great like this.”
Ridgeline advanced to the title match by outlasting No. 5 Seattle Prep 23-25, 27-25, 25-19, 17-25, 15-11.
The Falcons were undefeated in the Greater Spokane League and won the district championship to earn a state berth.
Mt. Spokane takes third in 3A
Sixth-seeded Mt. Spokane won a trophy for the fifth straight tournament, twice rallying from a set down to beat No. 5 Seattle Prep to claim third place in the Class 3A state tournament early Saturday evening.
The Wildcats won 25-23, 25-27, 23-25, 25-21, 17-15.
Mt. Spokane were swept in the semifinals by No. 2 North Thurston, 25-11, 25-20, 25-19 to begin play Saturday, after surviving a five-setter against Timberline and winning in four against Prairie on Friday.
The third-place finish is the best finish for the Wildcats since claiming the 2019 championship.
After finishing 7-2 in the GSL – with its only league losses to 3A top-seed Ridgeline and 4A contender Gonzaga Prep – Mt. Spokane was the district runner-up.
Class 4A
Mead falls short of medal round
Defending Class 3A champion Mead fell a set short of adding another 4A trophy to its collection, falling to Eastlake in five sets Saturday morning.
The 10th-seeded Wolves snuck past the No. 14 Panthers 23-25, 25-19, 26-25, 14-25, 15-12.
Mead had qualified for the state tournament by winning the district championship after being seeded fifth with a 5-4 record in the rugged GSL.
The Panthers have won 21 state trophies – 18 of those in 4A. They captured seven 4A championships, including five straight from 2003-07, before reclassifying for the 2021-22 school year.
Mead won the 3A championship in 2021 and 2023 to sandwich a runner-up finish in ’22.