YAKIMA – Whatcom County had an extremely strong showing at the first day of the 1A and 2A state volleyball tournaments, as Meridian, Lynden and Nooksack Valley combined to go 5-1, with the only loss coming to another Whatcom County team.
In the 1A tournament, the Trojans defeated Bellevue Christian in the first round, 25-12, 25-18 and 25-21.
Senior Emry Claeys led the way with 22 kills, and sophomore Gracie Pap skied through the air to pick up eight kills and two blocks in the middle.
The Pioneers began the day by defeating King’s Way Christian 25-23, 25-15 and 25-14.
Senior Juliana Gimmaka led the defense with 30 digs, while senior Lainey Kimball had a double-double with 19 kills and 14 digs to go along with her team-high three blocks.
With both teams winning, it set up a quarterfinal match against each other. Earlier in the season, Nooksack Valley beat Meridian during conference play, but the Trojans defeated the Pioneers for the district championship. The rubber match played out exactly how most would imagine, as it went five sets.
Meridian won the first set 25-18, and Nooksack Valley came back to win the next two, 25-18 and 25-22, but the Trojans then staged their comeback with wins of 25-14 and 15-9 in the final set.
Claeys totaled 35 kills and 13 digs, while junior libero Rylan Bernardy led her team with 26 digs, as Grace Wells dished out 44 assists, Eden Bernardy had six aces and Pap had another eight kills to go with her five blocks.
Meridian will now face top-ranked Chelan on Saturday morning at 9:00 for a chance to play for the state championship, and Nooksack Valley will take on Lakeside-Nine Mile Falls at 10:45 in the morning for a chance to get into the fifth-place game.
In Class 2A, the second-seeded Lions continued to roll by dominating Sammamish in three straight sets in the afternoon, and followed that up by beating Tumwater in the night cap in three straight sets.
Senior setter Grace Rice, who was named the Northwest Conference Player of the Year, kept both opponents guessing with precision assists in both matches.
Lynden’s persistence and power paid off in the third set of the Sammamish match, as the Lions won 25-4. The Thunderbirds were able to hang with Lynden at times, but they weren’t able to pick up a winning set.
Lynden will face the sixth-seeded Spudders from Ridgefield at 10:45 Saturday morning for a chance to play for the state championship.
