CLASS 1A District Tournament
After the Meridian Trojans captured the district championship on Tuesday, only one match remained, and it was for a state berth.
Nooksack Valley jumped off to a big start by defeating Lynden Christian in the first set, 25-15, and the Lyncs followed it up by taking down the Pioneers 25-23 in the second set.
The pivotal third set was won by Nooksack Valley 25-19, and the Pioneers then took the spirited fourth set 25-23 which cleared their path to the state tournament for the second year in a row.
Nooksack Valley senior Lainey Kimball finished with 26 kills, 24 digs and four aces to help propel her team to the final tournament of the season. Sophomore Payton Bartl had team high’s with 43 assists and five aces.
Senior Tana Hoekema had 17 kills, while senior Julianna Gimmaka dug out 22 and freshman Elizabeth DeLange had three blocks.
The Lyncs’ season came to end, but they battled hard all season and finished quite well despite some injury setbacks.
CLASS 2A District Tournament
The 2A district tournament continued on Thursday night, and began with a loser-out match between Bellingham and Archbishop Murphy.
The Wildcats were seeded much higher than the Bayhawks, who had to win a play-in game earlier in the week to get into the tournament, but Bellingham was able to come together as a team and defeat Archbishop Murphy in five sets.
The win kept the season alive for the Bayhawks who then awaited the winner of the next match.
Sehome then took the court to face an extremely tough Anacortes team, but the Mariners rallied behind the double-double of sophomore Hayden Niewaidomski, who finished with 20 kills and 10 digs, and Sehome beat the Seahawks in five sets.
Junior setter Emmy Lee had 34 sets and 10 digs, senior Molly Burfeind and sophomore Makenna Andrews combined for 32 digs while juniors Leah Lockwood and Maddie Behrends combined for nine blocks.
The win by Sehome set up the late-nigh finale against Bellingham, which the Mariners took in three straight sets.
It was another strong defensive match for Sehome as Lockwood and senior Ava Lehn combined for eight blocks, and Burfeind had another 19 digs. Sophomore Anya Winter also led with three aces.
Bellingham’s deep postseason run finally came to end, and the Mariners will face Burlington-Edison at noon on Saturday at Squalicum High School as the prize will be the final state berth in the 2A classification.
CLASS 3A District Tournament
The 3A district tournament kicked off on Thursday night, with numerous matches with loser-out implications.
Ferndale hosted Edmonds-Woodway in one such match, and lost the first set 25-21. The Golden Eagles then dug down deep inside to win the next two sets 25-17 and 25-21, but dropped the fourth set to the Warriors 25-21.
The packed gym got behind the Ferndale squad in the fifth set, and the Golden Eagles were able to squeeze out the 18-16 win, and will now face Meadowdale on the road on Tuesday at 7:00.
Ferndale was led by seniors Tia Gilday and Mallory Butenschoen, both of whom knew this could have been their final high school volleyball match. Gilday had 23 kills, seven digs, 2.5 blocks and an ace, while Butenschoen totaled 17 kills and 21 digs.
Freshman setter Brooklyn Larrabee dished out 70 assists, while also posting 11 digs, seven aces and a pair of kills, and sophomore libero Katrina Ferry had 26 digs and two aces.
Juniors Amelie McKeon and Lay Williams each had 10 kills and a block, and junior Olivia Copps finished with nine kills, 13 digs and an ace.
