CHS volleyball claims Great Northern League's top spot

The Cheney High volleyball team ran a gauntlet last week, going 2-0 in Great Northern League play with wins over Pullman (3-0), Sept. 27 and Clarkston (3-1), Sept. 29, followed by a sweep of 3A Greater Spokane League's North Central (3-0), Oct. 1

The Blackhawks fired on all cylinders in the Pullman match (25-22, 25-16 and 25-17). Head coach Heather Zorrozua noted that outside hitters Rylie Pease and Taylor Gould "stepped up," as did her middle hitters.

"One of our big goals was to beat Pullman in three (games)," Zorrozua said. "This week in practice we had a big focus on us as a team and how we play our games. Our middle and outside hitters did a great job in committing and going after blocks during the match."

Cheney led across the board in offense with Rylie Pease recording 17 kills, Peyton Stark having 31 assists and four aces. On defense, Ally Jones had 14 digs and KD Skillingstad notched four blocks.

Against Clarkston (25-17, 25-13, 20-25 and 25-19), Cheney came out strong, winning the first two sets, before they dropped the third.

"Clarkston is a tough place to play, and the girls did a great job in being prepared and playing our game of volleyball," Zorrozua said. "When we're up in sets, my team will get comfortable, so there was a lack of focus and they were starting to listen to the crowd."

The Bantams led for most of the fourth set until Stark made a pass to Skillingstad, who Zorrozua said "crushed it."

"That moment is what took us to the end (of the match)," Zorrozua said, adding that the win over Clarkston was a "good learning experience" for her team.

Pease had double kills for the second-straight match with 13. Stark led the match with 33 assists while Gould notched four aces. On defense, Jones had 13 digs and Skillingstad had four blocks.

The Blackhawks dominated North Central in an early game (25-16, 25-9 and 25-19), winning the first two sets easily. The Indians led for most of the third set, until Cheney came back halfway through the frame.

"My team is good when we're on, but when a team gets a run on us, we kind of shut down and get quiet," Zorrozua said. "We are working on that."

Stats from the North Central game were unavailable as of press time.

The Blackhawks (5-1 GNL, 7-1 overall), who are on a five-match winning streak, are first in the league standings.

Cheney hosted West Valley (4-2, 4-3), Oct. 4. The Eagles, who are tied for second with Pullman (4-2, 6-3), swept the Blackhawks 3-0 on Sept. 15.

"I'm excited to play West Valley again," Zorrozua said. "They dictated the match (the first time). I'm glad it's at home and this time we're going to dictate the match. If we can focus on us, I think we'll succeed."

Cheney will take a break from league play and compete in the Linda Sheridan volleyball tournament at Ferris High School, Oct. 7-8.

Zorrozua said her team will face Idaho's Lakeland and 2B Colfax in pool play to start out the tournament on Friday, then play a crossover match the next day.

"It's nice to be able to play outside of the league and go up against some new faces," Zorrozua said. "My girls will step up to the challenge."

Al Stover can be reached at [email protected].