-
Nooksack Valley 3, Meridian 2
-
Ferndale 3, Mount Vernon 0
-
Blaine 3, Mount Baker 0
-
Burlington-Edison 3, Lynden 0
NOOKASCK VALLEY 3, MERIDIAN 2
Last year these two teams played for the 1A district championship, and both teams came back with top-6 finishes in the state tournament.
It’s the healthiest of rivalries, and by going the distance, it proved that the rivalry is still alive and well.
The Trojans captured the first set 25-21, and the Pioneers returned the favor with a 25-21 victory of their own in the second set.
Meridian won the pivotal third frame in a tightly contested 25-23 set, and Nooksack Valley answered back by taking the fourth set 25-22.
The Trojans kept it close in the final set, but the Pioneers ultimately took it 15-13.
Junior Grace DeHoog and sophomore Elizabeth DeLange racked up 17 kills each to help power Nooksack Valley to victory, and they were aided by the setting of junior Payton Bartl who distributed 43 assists.
DeHoog also led with 16 digs, while DeLange also had four blocks and a .353 hitting percentage. Junior Gracie Rutgers added seven kills, 14 digs and three aces, and sophomore Raegan Burke posted three blocks.
The Trojans were led by freshman Melanie Short who finished with 22 kills and 11 digs. Sophomore Eden Bernardy added 10 kills, 21 digs and four aces and senior Rylan Bernardy had four aces and seven digs.
Senior Grace Wells dished out 34 assists and junior Taya Benson had a pair of blocks.
FERNDALE 3, MOUNT VERNON 0
The Golden Eagles were tested, but held strong at home as they defeated the Bulldogs 25-20, 25-21 and 25-23.
Sophomore Brooklyn Larrabee ran the offense tremendously as she handed out 20 assists, while also collecting seven kills herself. The main beneficiaries included seniors Terrace Hendrickson and Lay Williams who each had eight kills, as well as sophomore Svetlana Baydak who ended up with six kills.
Junior libero Katrina Ferry led with nine digs, while senior Kaylie Carver had six digs and junior Caitlyn Berg had five digs and a team-high five aces.
BLAINE 3, MOUNT BAKER 0
The Borderites picked up their first conference win on the road by defeating the Mountaineers 25-20, 25-15 and 26-24.
Senior Kaitlyn Harrington led Blaine with 11 kills and four aces to go with her nine digs. She was closely followed by sophomore Teia Dube who finished with nine kills and 10 digs.
Junior Carly Saunders was also extremely efficient with nine kills and a .500 hitting percentage, while senior Brie Smith added 23 assists and four aces and junior Hannah Phelps-McDonald had 10 digs.
Mountie junior Maddi Lewis finished with four kills, three aces, six digs and three blocks. She was joined by senior Annalee Cohn who had six assists, two aces and four blocks and senior Kennedy Rathjen who finished with a team-high five aces.
BURLINGTON-EDISON 3, LYNDEN 0
In a battle of the last two unbeaten teams in the conference it was the Tigers who came out on top as they defeated the Lions 25-20, 25-22 and 25-12 on the road.
Lynden outside hitters Finley Parcher and Rian Stephan were able to break through the tough Burlington-Edison defense and finish with eight kills each, and freshman Izzie Stephan ended with 21 assists.
Senior Kamryn Hermanutz had a team-high 14 digs, while sophomore Sarah McVie had two blocks.
